Je N'ai Pas De Mots
by MrsMcGinty
Summary: Jasmine and Jandra never knew each other until Ouran Academy. They resemble each other so much they decide to trick the entire school into believing they're twins. But they'll need the help of the Host Club if they want to pull it off. EPILOGUE is up!
1. Chapter 1

Jasmine was highly confused. Why she had been transferred to this school of all places was beyond her. She let her mother handle that kind of thing. Jasmine simply went with the flow and did as she was told. It made her job simpler. The American brunette wandered the halls of her new school, trying to get acquainted with the large building. Her mother must have really outdone herself trying to get Jasmine in here. Ouran Academy was huge and everything looked very expensive. Classes had gone smoothly and the uniform was even decent. She had always been told she looked good in yellow. Personally, she detested the color, but she had to admit that it was flattering to her face. And she needed all the help she could get. Her bushy hair was simply annoying, so she had cut it short as soon as she moved to Japan. What Mother doesn't know won't hurt her.

In the last lesson of the day, Jasmine noticed another girl in the back of the classroom. For a moment, she had thought there was a mirror in the room, but then realized the girl looked almost exactly like her. Her hair was slightly more rumpled-looking than Jasmine's. Jasmine's was just poofy, so she never could do much with it besides tuck it behind her ears. This girl, though… She'd styled it to look enticingly touchable…. If that hair was on a boy, Jasmine would have had an urge to run her fingers through it. But she would not, whether on boy or girl. This girl also had highlights in her cropped locks. She seemed bored with the class, staring out the window. And she looked exactly like Jasmine. Same facial features, same body build…. She even had the same freckles on her arms and face!

Jandra felt someone staring at her. She turned to give a glare in return, but stopped short when she looked into mirroring eyes. That girl a few rows up looked exactly like her. Her hair was frazzled, but it looked like she couldn't help that. Jandra got over their likeness quickly and smirked at the girl, who jumped back and stared forward. Jandra chuckled to herself, admiring the glint of the sunlight on her mother's Claddagh that she wore on her right ring finger. Her one soft spot: her mother.

When class was over, Jandra found the girl standing outside the doors, looking like she didn't know where to go. Jandra stood next to her.

"Frazzled, huh?"

Jasmine had seen the girl approach her. What surprised her was the accent.

"Are you… Irish?"

"What of it?" Jandra asked, raising her left eyebrow.

"Hmm, I wish I could do that," Jasmine mumbled. "I can only raise my right eyebrow by itself."

"Well, then I guess we're more mirrors of each other than copies," Jandra said. "You're thinking it's possible we are twins separated at birth, am I correct?"

Jasmine nodded.

"There's not much explanation for it," she said.

"Well, I don't think it's possible," Jandra. "We simply got skipped in the whole 'physical' aspect of individualism. God's funny that way, huh?"

"Yeah… funny…"

"I'm Jandra, by the way," she said, extending her hand.

"Jasmine," smiled the American, taking the offered hand. "Oh, wow, a Claddagh!" Jandra pulled her hand back and to her side.

"Aye," she said simply, showing no emotion.

"My aunt bought me one for my birthday last year," Jasmine said, extending her own hand.

"My, how traditional-looking," Jandra commented.

"Yours is prettier than mine," Jasmine mumbled. "But I love mine because it was my aunt that bought it for me. It isn't even close to the one I asked for, but it's nice either way…." Jandra had begun to walk away. "Wait!"

"What do you want?"

"Um… I think maybe we should hang out sometime," Jasmine said. "I don't think we look alike for no reason. We should learn more about each other."

Jandra looked at Jasmine. They were both foreigners in a strange land. They were both loners. And something inside her tugged her towards this girl. Some abnormal, yet perfectly natural, bond….

"Sure." And she continued walking.


	2. Chapter 2

Jasmine followed Jandra down the hallway.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Why do you care?" Jandra asked.

"Well… I don't really have anything to do at home," Jasmine admitted. "I live alone. Mom's back in the States making sure there's money for me to keep coming here." Jandra looked at her from the corner of her eye.

"You mean you don't even have an uncle or a brother to stay with you?" she asked.

"No," Jasmine said. "What about you?"

"Me neither," Jandra admitted. "I don't need anyone to stay with me."

"Well, neither do I," Jasmine said. "I just think I should use any free time I have now, before we start getting pelted with homework."

"Hmm," Jandra mused.

"So where are we going?"

Jandra rolled her eyes.

"I don't know."

Jasmine looked at the ceiling.

"Well, that's helpful."

Jandra's lips quirked into an almost-smile. She could take a liking to this Jasmine girl.

"You know… we could probably fool everyone into believing we are really twins."

Jasmine began to laugh.

"That would be pretty funny if we pulled it off until graduation," she said.

"Exactly!" Jandra was suddenly passionate. "It will be the biggest prank in the history of pranks!"

"Well, if we're going to pull it off, we need a good story that we both know," Jasmine said, becoming business-like.

"Oh, I've already got that planned out," Jandra said. "Our parents divorced when we were one. I went with Dad to Ireland and you stayed with Mum in America. We had been kept secret from each other, but earlier this year, you figured out when you accidentally read a page of Mom's old diary and you convinced her into letting us meet."

Jasmine stood there for a moment.

"Perfect!"

They shook hands on it.

"Now, let's go try out our plan," Jandra said. "If we can't get through one day, we'll never get through the next three years."

"Wait. Right now?"

"Yes, right now."

"But, school's out for the day," Jasmine observed, peering down the empty hallways.

"There is always some kind of after-school activity going on," Jandra reasoned. They wandered the halls, managing to get up to the third floor before finding anything.

"Ooh, let's check in here," Jasmine said, looking at a sign that had a Japanese character she really knew: music.

"Music Room Three…. I don't hear any music," Jandra commented. Jasmine grabbed the left door's handle and Jandra grabbed the right. They opened the doors.

A whirlwind of rose petals zoomed past them into the hallway and the faux twins squinted through the bright lights of the room. After blinking a few times, they heard a chorus of voices.

"Welcome, ladies, to the Ouran Host Club!"


	3. Chapter 3

"The what?" the girls chorused, raising their respective eyebrows (Jandra her left, Jasmine her right) in the same expression. A tall, handsome, blonde boy walked up. He seemed to glitter….

"This is the Host Club," he said in a velvety voice. Jasmine blinked twice, staring at him. One of the other boys chimed in.

"Basically, it's where all the very rich boys with too much time on their hands entertain young ladies who also have way too much time on their hands," he said. This boy was short, with cropped, brown hair and big puppy brown eyes.

The girls examined the other boys as the tall blonde went introducing them.

"This is Haruhi," he said, pointing to the puppy-eyed boy. Haruhi smiled genuinely at them. "This is Honey-senpai." A very small blonde boy who looked five years old hopped up and down, squeezing a stuffed rabbit. "Mori-senpai." A very big man… That was all that registered in Jasmine's mind. A very big man… "Kyoya." Tall, lean, glasses… your average cool genius. Jandra smirked. The girls didn't notice their reactions were identical as well. Playing the part of twins was going to be easier than either of them had imagined. "Hikaru and Kaoru, our devious twins."

Everything screeched to a halt. Jasmine and Jandra stared at Kaoru and Hikaru. Tall… ginger… identical… and so dang mischievous!

"And I am Tamaki, the president of this Host Club!" finished the blonde with elegance. "Come in, make yourselves at home." He led the girls to a couch. They were still staring at the twins, their mouths slightly agape. And the twins were watching them too….

"Which host would you like to request on your first visit?" said the tall one with glasses. "I'm assuming the twins." Jasmine and Jandra nodded mutely. Hikaru and Kaoru sat across from them, abandoning their other guests.

"So what are your names?" they asked in unison. Jandra and Jasmine recognized their different voices.

"Jandra."

"Jasmine."

They said their names at the same time.

"Jandra," said Hikaru.

"Jasmine," said Kaoru at the same time.

"Such beautiful names," said Hikaru.

"For such beautiful ladies," finished Kaoru. "I am Kaoru. This is Hikaru." The girls smiled.

"Pleasure to meet you two!" they chorused. Jasmine saw Kaoru nudge Hikaru's foot with his own gently.

"Would you ladies like some tea?" the twins asked, pouring them each a cup. All too quickly, Kaoru's cup slipped and spilled the scalding beverage on his hand.

"Ah!" he gasped in pain. Hikaru grabbed his brother's hand and sucked on the burn, his face millimeters from his brother's.

"Kaoru!" his voice caressed. "You need to be more careful. From now on, keep your eyes on me."

"Y-yes… Hikaru… Do you hear anything?"

"Hmm?... No…."

"Exactly."

The twins turned to the girls, who had no expression on at all.

"Huh. The girls usually go haywire over that one," Hikaru said, dropping Kaoru's hand and sipping his tea.

"Yeah, you guys are different," Kaoru commented.

"So, what gives?" they asked together.

"We're… foreigners?" the girls shrugged and said together.

"I saw you give Hikaru the signal to do your little act," Jasmine told Kaoru, looking into his eyes. Hikaru gaped at her.

"They have to use signals?" the blonde leader shouted. When did he pop up behind the girls? "What kind of twins are you to need signals?" Haruhi grabbed Tamaki's ear and dragged him off. It didn't seem to take much effort though.

"Oh, Haruhi, where are we going?" he asked excitedly.

"He loves him," Jasmine commented, tossing the matter aside.

"How strange," Jandra added. "He doesn't seem to sway that side of the fence to me." Kaoru and Hikaru burst into a fit of giggles. Jasmine's lips twitched into a half-smile involuntarily.

"They know something we don't," Jasmine told Jandra. "An inside joke, perhaps?" She tilted her head to the side, examining the twins' faces, who had stopped and regarded her with their own searching gazes.

"So you're American," Kaoru said. Jasmine righted herself and smiled.

"Mm-hm," she said.

"And where are you from?" Hikaru asked Jandra. "Your accent is very different from any I've heard before."

"I'm from Ireland," she said.

"Whoa. The Emerald Isle," the twins chorused. Jandra gave a small laugh. "So does that mean you two aren't twins?"

"Oh, no. We're twins," Jandra said.

"Our parents separated when we were one," Jasmine said.

"And they each took one of us with them," Jandra said.

"Mother kept me in the States," Jasmine said.

"And Father took me to Ireland," Jandra finished.

"And now you're here at Ouran," Kaoru and Hikaru concluded together. "How… uncommon."

"It's like that movie, Kaoru," said Hikaru. "The one with that Lindsay girl."

"Oh, 'The Parent Trap'?" Kaoru said.

"Yes, that one," Hikaru said, nodding.

"So, are you going to try to get your parents back together?" the redheads said.

"No," the girls said immediately and blushed. Jasmine's heart was pounding and Jandra's blood was beginning to boil. The boys didn't take notice.

"Oh, well that's a shame," Hikaru said.

"Yeah, we would have liked to help," Kaoru said.

"Truthfully, we're getting kind of bored," Hikaru said.

"There's not much to do around here anymore," Kaoru said.

"Yeah, it seems like we've done everything there is to do," Hikaru finished.

"But since you don't have a grand scheme, we cannot help you," they chorused. Jandra and Jasmine looked at each other.

"Would you like to come over later today?" Jasmine asked. Jandra raised an eyebrow. That wasn't what she had been thinking, but okay. The twins turned their heads to the side.

"What for?" they asked.

"Yeah, what for?" Jandra mumbled.

"I think we have a 'grand scheme' that you can help us with after all," Jasmine said, smiling. "Too many witnesses here." She winked. Kaoru's face blushed a little.

"We're in," the boys chorused just as Tamaki dismissed all the ladies for the day.

"Thank you for your time today, ladies," he said, kissing each one on the hand before they left. Hikaru and Kaoru followed Jasmine and Jandra out the door.

"We'll see you tomorrow, boss," they chorused and left without giving Tamaki a chance to realize what had happened.


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as they were off the school grounds, Jasmine stopped Jandra.

"You're okay with telling them, right?" she asked, peeking at the boys over her shoulder. "About our prank?"

"I suppose they would be the best ones to ask," Jandra said. "We'll swear them to secrecy first. We're going to your place?"

"Unless you object," Jasmine said.

"No, that's fine," Jandra said and they continued to walk. Jandra fell a step behind Jasmine, not knowing where the younger girl lived.

Soon enough, they turned up the walk to a little house. The twins didn't follow the girls away from the sidewalk. They stared up at the small building.

"Is this your house?" Hikaru asked.

"It's just where I'm staying while in Japan," Jasmine said irritably. "It's not that small…." She stomped into the house, the other three following close behind.

The first thing Kaoru noticed was a miniature grand piano by the window in the main room. It was littered with handwritten music and pencils, the lid not even closed over the keys. He looked at a large bookshelf. The only books on the shelves were music and there were stacks of blank staff paper on one end and a pile of used on the other end. On other shelves, he saw a violin perched in a corner, and a flute had been laid on a towel as a cushion. There was a guitar directly under the window.

"So, you're pretty into music, huh?" Kaoru asked, then realized that he'd stopped walking as everyone else kept going into the next room.

"Oh yeah," Jasmine said. "Would you like some tea?"

"No, thank you," all three guests said. The four teens sat on chairs in the sitting room next to the television that was hardly used.

"So what's your great scheme?" the boys asked with smirks on their faces.

"We're not twins," Jasmine said flatly. The smirks were gone.

"Are you sisters?" Hikaru asked.

"We're not related," Jandra said.

"Not even cousins?" Kaoru asked.

"No," the girls said.

"We met today after classes," Jasmine said. "And this is our great scheme. We want to fool the entire school into thinking we're twins until we graduate."

"What kind of a scheme is that?" Hikaru said, leaning back in his seat. Kaoru rolled his eyes.

"It's still a pretty good prank," Kaoru said. "So, is that why you said you weren't trying to get your parents to remarry? Do you both have a full set of parents already?" Both of the girls' shoulders fell.

"No," they both said, then looked at each other surprised. Jandra talked first.

"My mom died three years ago in a hit and run," she said.

"My dad left us when I was eight," Jasmine said.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Hikaru said, regretting his snarky comment earlier.

"It's all right," the girls chorused. "You didn't know."

"Is that how you got into music?" Kaoru asked Jasmine. "I know lots of musicians use it as an outlet for emotions they don't get to talk about often." Jasmine gave him a small smile.

"Yes," she said. "I write music and I revise well-known songs. Well… well-known in America." The boys smiled.

"Will you play something you've written for us?" Hikaru asked, wanting to embarrass the girl. Jasmine blushed.

"Yeah," said Jandra. "I want to know what exactly it is that my 'sister' is doing with her time." She put air quotes around "sister".

"Well…" Jasmine started. "All right." She led them back into the first room and went to the shelves. She ruffled through the stack of used staff paper for a moment, then brought a couple pages back to the piano. The other three gathered around the piano.

Jasmine poised her fingers to play, then pulled her hands back and took a shaky breath.

"It's all right," Kaoru said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's just us. You don't have to be nervous." Jasmine looked into his amber eyes.

"I'm not nervous," she said. "It's just… I've never played this song for anyone before…. I've kept wanting to change it and make it perfect… but it always sounds the same when I finish. I wrote it for my dad."

Kaoru tightened his hold on her shoulder for a moment, then let go and rested his chin on his hand and his elbow on the piano.

"Go ahead," he whispered. Jasmine closed her eyes for a second, and when she opened them, Kaoru saw determination in her eyes. And she began to play.

Kaoru had never been a fan of classical music, but the way Jasmine played was so relaxing and filled with raw truth and emotion, that he couldn't help but like it. Her fingers hit each key with precision and accuracy. He watched her fingers glide over the keys with a dance-like grace. She really was a master of what she did.

When she finished, all three of her guests applauded.

"What's that called?" Kaoru asked. "Out of curiosity."

"Oh, it… doesn't have a title," she said, gathering the music and putting it back into the pile. "None of mine do. I'm… not great with words. None of them have lyrics either, though some of them are written to be sung."

"You need a lyricist to collaborate with," Hikaru teased, elbowing Kaoru in the side.

"Oh, I don't think I'd want any of my stuff to be in Japanese, though," Jasmine said with an apologetic smile. "At least not ones that I've written for specific people who only speak English… like my dad." Kaoru frowned.

"You think I can't speak English?" he said in English. He added in Japanese, "That's rather rude to assume things." A smile slowly spread across Jasmine's face.

"You have a London accent," she said. Kaoru blushed and looked at the floor. He had always been nervous about his English, fearing he would say something wrong. English was very hard to learn and he was still learning. "It's very good though." He looked up and smiled.

"I want to know what you do, Jandra," Hikaru announced. The other three looked at him. "Do you live far from here?"

"No," Jandra said. "If you really want to… I guess I can't stop you from following me home."

"Well, now you make it sound like we're stalkers," Hikaru said, crossing his arms. Jasmine giggled and closed the piano.

"Shall we?" Jandra asked, turning towards the door before extending her hand to Hikaru. Jasmine extended hers to Kaoru.

Hesitantly, the twins reached for the outstretched hands.


	5. Chapter 5

They must have been a sight to see, Jandra thought as she led the group to where she was staying. Two sets of supposed twins walking hand in hand like couples…. Well, she thought they looked like couples. So many culture differences made it difficult for her to know what was considered romantic and what was friendly. Neither of the boys had objected, so it must be seen as platonic here.

She was kind of glad that Jasmine had stepped in and taken charge of acquiring help with their prank. Jandra would never have had the idea to ask these boys for help with anything.

One street over from Jasmine's house was Jandra's.

Well… it wasn't much of a house. More like an abandoned auto detail shop. Jandra let go of Hikaru's hand to search for her keys. Jasmine didn't really take much notice, but Kaoru looked at their still-joined hands. Was this simply a sign of friendship in America? It seemed rather intimate and familiar to him. He only ever held Hikaru's hand. And yet, Jasmine didn't seem like she was going to let go any time soon. He turned his eyes to the garage door when Jandra hoisted it up with a loud clatter.

The first thing Jasmine noticed was color. Upon further inspection, she saw that there were paintings propped up against the walls all around and easels in the middle of the room where some were still drying or incomplete. There wasn't even plastic or paper on the floor, paint staining the concrete.

Jasmine subconsciously led Kaoru around the room, looking at the paintings. He followed without protest.

"I like that one," he said, pointing to one of a girl holding a kitten and petting the sleeping feline as it rested in her arms. The expression on the girl's face was almost motherly; protective and loving. And the girl in the painting resembled—

Jasmine jumped a little when Kaoru took his hand out of hers. She saw him stoop to pick something up.

A cat.

"He's the cat in the painting," Jasmine mused, scratching its ears and listening to it purr. Kaoru held it close as they went to join Hikaru and Jandra on the other side of the room. Hikaru had gone the other direction inspecting paintings.

"These are really good," Hikaru told Jandra. She grunted.

"This is just the studio," she said and walked towards a door. "Let's go inside." The cat leapt from Kaoru's arms. Jandra led them into a small sitting area. All the kitchen appliances looked like they came with the place: shabby and rundown. The television, however, was new, as well as the furniture in the sitting room, even though it was cluttered with pencil sketches and magazines. Kaoru noticed a few novels lying in the corner with some sketches.

"Well, it's smaller than Jasmine's place," Hikaru noted. "But it's bigger than Haruhi's."

Kaoru nodded as they all sat down. Jandra kicked off her shoes and let them unceremoniously fall to the floor. The twins stared at her shoes, which had almost fallen underneath the coffee table. She just left them there? And she didn't wear slippers around the house?

"Must be a western thing," they both murmured at the same time. Other cultures were so strange.

"So, you've seen what I do," Jandra said, grabbing the remote for the television and turning it on. "You can leave now."

"Jandra, that's impolite," Jasmine said, frowning.

"So? I have a show I want to finish," Jandra said, opening the doors under the television and skimming the DVDs. She turned to look at her "guests" and found them all looking rather hurt. She sighed and turned off the television. "Fine. What do you want to do?"

"Hmm…" said Jasmine and went searching for something in the house. "Oh, look! We can play Twister!" She rushed back into the room holding a box with several colored dots on it. The twins raised an eyebrow.

"What's Twister?" they asked. Jasmine's jaw dropped.

"It's so much fun!" she squealed. "Oh, we have to play now. Can we, Jandra?" Jandra chuckled.

"Sure," she said. "I'll whip y'all's butts though."

"Doubt it," Jasmine said. "Oh, we'd better get out of our dresses first. Do you think I could borrow an outfit for this?"

"Sure," Jandra said. "Bedroom's through there. Help yourself." Jasmine locked herself in the bedroom while Jandra turned on a laptop. "Here, when this loads, just click the Internet, okay? I should change too."

"Okay," Hikaru said, turning the laptop towards him as she slipped into the bedroom as well. He'd never seen this brand of computer before. It looked really neat, but there were no Japanese characters on the keyboard. Once the desktop popped up, Hikaru stared at it blankly. "You're going to have to do this, Kaoru. You're better at English than I am." He scooted the laptop over to his twin.

"What did she say to bring up again?" Kaoru asked. "Oh. Internet…." He slowly but surely skimmed the icons on the desktop until he found "Internet Explorer" and double clicked it. He set the computer on the table again and they waited for the page to load.

Jandra and Jasmine came out of the bedroom together. They'd changed into sweat pants and T-shirts. They'd taken off their socks and shoes. Jasmine set up the game while Jandra took care of the internet.

"I absolutely love this site," she said. "Plays music that you like based on a song or artist you enter and plays new and interesting songs. And you can skip songs you don't like, and it takes that into consideration when choosing new songs. It's awesome." She turned up the volume and pop/rock music filled the room, but wasn't loud.

"You guys will want to take off your shoes and socks," Jasmine said as she held up a small board with a spinner on it. They stared at her for a moment before giving in and playing along with these silly foreigners. It felt very weird, yet the only ones uncomfortable with it were the boys. They were good at hiding discomfort. Honestly, they were slightly weirded out by what they did in the host club with each other. But since they both knew it was a charade, they didn't have too hard of a time hiding it.

"So how do we play?" the boys asked.

"Well, one person will be in charge of the spinner," Jasmine said. "Basically, you have to put your left or right hand or foot on whichever color the spinner lands on. It's all specified on the board. But the point is to try not to fall over and you get all twisted, it's fun!"

"I'll take the spinner the first round," Jandra said.

"Okay!" Jasmine said and went to stand by this big mat the boys hadn't even noticed. There were rows of different colored dots. "Oh! Let's go one at a time so not all three of us are doing the same thing. Okay?"

"Sure," Jandra said and spun the arrow. "Jasmine, right hand green." Jasmine planted her right hand on a green dot. "Hikaru, left foot blue." Hikaru hesitantly placed the ball of his foot on a blue dot. "Kaoru, right foot yellow…."

And so the game continued, each of them taking turns spinning the spinner. Jandra did happen to beat everyone, but Hikaru wasn't far behind. Funnily enough, Jasmine was last and she wasn't happy about it. She sat on the couch hugging her knees to her chest and rubbing her big toes together, fitting her nose right between her knees. The boys were on the other couch, slumped over, leaning against each other for support. They were tired out by the new game.

"That was really fun," Kaoru said. "I'd like to see the host club play that all together." Hikaru laughed.

"Yeah, I bet Honey would win," he said.

"Nah, I'm betting Haruhi, though she probably wouldn't want to play," Kaoru said, then the two went rigid, looking at the girls in anticipation. "Oops."

"Haruhi's a girl?" Jandra asked, hands suspended over the lid to the Twister box in the process of putting it away.

"Well, that explains a lot of things," Jasmine said, moving to lean against the arm rest and stick her feet between her cushion and the next.

"So I was right," Jandra said, sliding the box across the floor and into the next room. "Tamaki isn't gay." Jasmine giggled.

"Oh that makes it so cute!" Jasmine said. "Are they dating?"

"Well, not really," Hikaru said. "The boss thinks of himself as her dad."

"And he's too dense to realize he's in love with her," Kaoru said. "But Haruhi isn't really looking for a boyfriend either."

"Yeah…" Hikaru trailed off. "Any move someone makes on her is just rebuffed and she doesn't even seem to notice."

"But don't tell anyone that Haruhi isn't a boy, okay?" Kaoru warned. "She owes the Host Club money and the easiest way for her to pay it back is to bring in customers, and she can only do that if she pretends to be a boy."

"I see," Jasmine said as Jandra settled in next to her on the couch, sitting in much the same way Jasmine was, but mirrored on the other arm rest. "It's the least we can do, since you're keeping our secret as well."

The boys relaxed a little. Kaoru was sure he'd messed up big time, but he was beginning to trust these girls a little.

"I think we should tell the club about your prank," Hikaru said. "They'd be able to help squash any doubt in the school in the higher classes. And Tamaki's been known to have some interesting strategies."

"Interesting isn't the word I would use," Kaoru said. "But it works." They chuckled. "Good idea, though. They will be helpful in keeping the secret a secret. What do you say?" Jasmine and Jandra looked at each other.

"You trust all of them?" Jandra asked the boys.

"Oh, yeah," they said in unison.

"All right then," Jasmine said. "We're in. We'll stop by the club tomorrow after school."

"So, Tamaki-senpai?" Hikaru asked. Jasmine and Jandra stood in anticipation as the blonde made a show of thinking.

"Very well!" he said. The girls smiled.

"Well, that's a relief," Kaoru said. "We were kind of worried we'd be owing you something since we let Haruhi's secret slip to them." Tamaki went rigid and his eye twitched.

"YOU DID WHAT?"


	6. Chapter 6

With the help of the Host Club, keeping their secret was easier than either of the girls could have thought. They came by the twin act almost naturally. Kaoru and Hikaru did help them with some "techniques" for making the illusion believable. The girls had almost become a part of the Host Club. They hung out on days when the guests weren't in, and the girls especially became close with Haruhi. They loved to talk about the silliness of the boys and act innocent whenever Tamaki would turn his gaze to them.

It was the day before Honey and Mori's graduation. The last real day of classes had just finished. The Host Club's last day in session was yesterday. Out of nostalgia, Jasmine went to Music Room #3. Jandra had gone straight home. Probably to pack. The girls were returning home for the summer. Jasmine didn't want to go home. This had become her home in many ways. She'd had few friends in America. She was always too shy to approach people.

The room looked like it had died. The lights were out and the furniture was all pushed towards the walls, ready for the school to close its doors for a few months. She quickly flipped the switch and watched the chandelier illuminate the corners of the room. She leaned against the door jamb for a few minutes, just scanning the room very slowly, wanting to take in all the little details she'd missed throughout the year.

Tonight was the last day of the Ouran fair. Yesterday, Tamaki had announced that the Host Club would be closing down for good. Jasmine and Haruhi both firmly believed that Tamaki would show tonight, despite what that French… dog… Éclair… had said. Éclair. Sounds like a pastry. Jasmine scrunched her nose a little on one side. That girl was vile. Waltzing in here like that and taking Tamaki away in one day. She wondered when he would leave.

She paused in her thoughts when she saw a curtain draped over an entire corner of the room. How had she not seen that before? She walked over, leaving the door ajar. She found the seam in the drapes and peeked through.

She gasped. It was a beautiful grand piano. It seemed almost magical, just sitting there with the beautiful drapery all around. Everything at this school was extraordinary. Absolutely everything. She walked around and sat on the bench. She gently lifted the lid off the keys. They almost sparkled under the light.

She smiled a little. She could never resist that urge that pulled at her fingertips when she was near a piano. She played softly at first, then louder as she began to think about recent events. She was testing out a new song she'd written. It was a symbol of her feelings about her newfound friends and family in the Host Club. It sounded so much better on this piano.

As she played the final chord, she realized she was crying. No, not just crying. She was sobbing. She did not want to go home. What would her mother say if she missed her flight, not even bothering to start packing? She leaned her head against the piano and let her tears pool on the keys. She loved this place and the people here. She was beginning to think she could speak Japanese better than English at this point.

"Why?" she asked in English to no one in particular. "Why? Why? Why!"

"Jasmine?"

She gasped and sat up, bumping some keys in the process.

"Tamaki-senpai!" she cried out, hastily wiping at her face. "You're here," she said, reverting back to Japanese. Tamaki let the curtains close behind him and came to sit next to her on the bench. She scooted to make room.

"Are you all right?" he asked. "You were crying." He seemed saddened by her tears. Did he always feel this kind of empathy for others? It was almost as if he felt what they did.

"I'm fine," she lied. "I just… was frustrated." She watched as he gently laid his hand on the keys, not pushing them, but letting his fingers glide over them. He noticed the pool of tears and sighed.

"I'm such an idiot," he whispered. "Everyone is going through hell to keep me happy, and I never even noticed how much everyone was sacrificing on my behalf." Jasmine stared at him. So this was why he wanted to leave? He felt he was a burden on others? She opened her mouth to talk, but was stopped in her tracks when he began to play a song. It was very pretty. She had no idea Tamaki could play the piano.

He got to a certain point and then stopped. He gave a sheepish smile.

"I don't know where to take it from there," he said.

"You wrote that?" Jasmine asked, surprised.

"You wrote what you played, didn't you?" he asked with a smile. "I feel it's only fair now that you hear what I wrote." She blushed. He'd heard. "It was beautiful, your song."

"Thanks, Tamaki-senpai," she said. "Yours is beautiful too."

"It just needs to be finished," he said with a chuckle. "Would you help me?"

"Oh!" She was surprised. "Uhm… Not right now." She looked down. "Tamaki?" His expression changed a little at the informal use of his name. "When are you leaving?" He didn't answer for a little while. They both stared at the pool of Jasmine's tears, which was starting to dry up now.

"Tonight," he whispered. "I'm going to marry Éclair before the next school year begins, and stay in France, taking care of my mother." Jasmine thought his mother was in hiding. "She's been working as a maid in Éclair's home all this time." Jasmine's heart almost broke when Tamaki's voice did. Was he crying? She didn't want to look up.

"I don't want you to go," she choked out.

"Why?"

She sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her hand.

"That song I played," she said. "I wrote it for you guys. For the whole Host Club. You've become like my family." She saw Tamaki go rigid next to her.

"Family…" he trailed off.

"My dad ran off when I was little," she said. "My mom's always been so business-like with my life and my decisions. This is the first real place I've felt like I can say I have a family and people who understand me."

Tamaki began playing his song again. Jasmine listened. It seemed sadder this time. She was expecting him to stop in the same place, but he just played right on through it. It was heart-wrenching and sad. His choice of chords was unconventional, and she loved it. She would probably hear that in her head for the rest of her life. It would taunt her. Mock her. He finished and played the last chord. She reached over his hands and played one key that would turn that chord into another unconventional one, unexpected.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I've given my word. I can't turn back now, even if I wanted to." She felt something warm drip on her outstretched hand and he left.

That night, the Host Club was in their costumes, waiting for Tamaki. Jasmine and Jandra snuck into the room and listened to their conversation. Haruhi was sitting in a chair. She looked beautiful. Tamaki should have been here to see. Kyoya was on the phone. He had learned that Tamaki was leaving now.

"That idiot!" he screamed and threw the phone on the floor.

"There he goes!" Hikaru yelled. They saw a red convertible drive by, Tamaki and Éclair in the back.

"But the fair's not even over yet!" Kaoru cried.

"Tama-chan!" Honey yelled, pressing his little face against the glass window. Haruhi hadn't moved.

It was as Jasmine was watching Tamaki ride away with Éclair and her heart was torn from her chest that she realized… she loved him.

Everything at this school was extraordinary.

Absolutely everything.


	7. Chapter 7

Hikaru hesitated only a moment when Kyoya started giving orders. He'd turned from the window to see Haruhi. She was just sitting there, staring off into space like she'd had her brain removed. He couldn't read her expression at all. Then he saw her lip tremble a tiny bit before Kyoya called her name.

"Haruhi, let's go."

They rushed to find the Otori family car, but the family's staff was ordered to keep them all there. Then Honey and Mori rode in with the horse-drawn carriage that Tamaki had shipped in from France for the fair.

"Hikaru, take the carriage," Mori said. "If you take the back hills bypass, you can cut them off." Hikaru jumped into the carriage on impulse and grabbed the reins.

"Now, go!" Kyoya yelled. "This is your chance!" Once he was sure Kaoru and Haruhi were in the back, he whipped the reins and they were off. They left Kyoya, Honey, Mori, Jasmine, and Jandra in the car garage.

Hikaru sped the horses up faster and faster, almost like a madman. They had to get the boss back.

"Hikaru!" Kaoru yelled. "Don't you think we should slow down? Somebody could get hurt!"

"We're not slowing down 'til we get the boss back!" Hikaru yelled back with determination.

"But, Hikaru!"

"If it wasn't for Tamaki," Hikaru started, "then the two of us would still only be lost souls. We were able to become friends with Haruhi and the others because the Host Club brought us together. To think that all of it could end so suddenly like this… IS SOMETHING THAT I CAN'T TOLERATE!"

The carriage hit a rock, and because they were going so fast, it launched the front end of the carriage up several feet in the air. Hikaru was launched a good ways away from it, and Kaoru and Haruhi got tossed around a bit until it rolled to a stop. The carriage was fine, but Hikaru wasn't.

"No! Hikaru!" Kaoru yelled and rushed to his brother, leaving Haruhi in the carriage. "Hikaru! Hikaru! Hikaru, are you okay?" he asked as he reached his brother, who was clutching his arm. "Is your arm hurting you?"

"This can't be the end, boss," Hikaru said to Tamaki as if he were there. "It's just not fair. The Host Club's the only thing that made us happy. Damn it."

"Hikaru," Kaoru said quietly, trying to comfort him the best he could when he felt the same way himself.

Hikaru heard the sound of rustling fabric and looked to the carriage only to see Haruhi had taken off her wig and outer dress… and was grabbing the reins.

"What's she doing?" he asked. She raised the reins high and they hit the horses' backs with a thwack.

"Hyah!" she yelled and was off to a running start. The twins ran back to the road and looked after her.

"She'll get him," Kaoru said. Hikaru grabbed his arm tighter. He'd twisted his elbow, most likely. It didn't feel like a break, so that was good. He really hoped Haruhi would bring Tamaki back.

Though, even if she didn't, as long as she came back, they would make it through somehow. That was something Tamaki and Haruhi had in common for Hikaru. They both strived to read deeper into him and his brother. She focused on who he was, not how he fit in. She didn't see him as "a twin," she saw him as Hikaru. And he was beginning to realize what Kaoru had done.

Kaoru had realized it before he had. That he loved Haruhi.

He took Kaoru's hand in his good one.

"Come on," he said and began to walk. "We can catch up to them near the bridge."

They hadn't walked more than a dozen steps when they heard something approaching them from behind. They turned to see Kyoya driving a family limousine. He stopped.

"Need a ride?" he asked with a smirk. "Did Haruhi take the carriage?"

"Yeah, on both accounts," Hikaru said and Kaoru opened the back door. They slid in next to Honey, Mori, Jasmine, and Jandra.

"We'll have one of my family's doctors take a look at your arm, Hikaru," Kyoya said as he continued to drive.

"Thanks, Kyoya-senpai," Hikaru said and waited for them to arrive.

"Look!" Mori shouted, scaring everyone half to death. They looked out the open window towards the bridge. They could see the carriage, and could only assume that the car was there too. Hikaru could just make out Haruhi's hair blowing in the wind. Then the carriage swayed and she was shoved over the edge… heading straight for the water.

"Haruhi!" Hikaru shouted. A split second later, he saw Tamaki come from what seemed out of nowhere, jumping after Haruhi. Hikaru could hear Tamaki's scream of her name echo through the area as he reached for her. "Hurry up, Kyoya-senpai!"

"I don't want to get pulled over," Kyoya said. "I'm already ten over the speed limit. We'll get there!" Hikaru turned away before he saw them hit the water, but he did see their embrace in the air and it stung inside his chest a little for some reason.

It seemed to take forever to get to the pull-over where they could get down to the river. Tamaki and Haruhi were standing just on the riverbank, and were dripping wet.

"Tama-chan! Haru-chan!" Honey yelled.

"Hey! Boss!" the twins yelled as they followed Honey, running to the soaking teens.

Tamaki looked them each directly in the eye. That gave Hikaru enough reason to believe one thing for certain.

Things were going to be okay.

The rest of the fair was fun. Haruhi finally announced to the student body that she was a girl by wearing that dress and dancing with all the boys. Hikaru found it kind of amusing to see Honey swinging them around. Then Kaoru turned her over to him.

"Hey," he said, taking her right hand in his left. His right was in a sling. And she put her hand on it. "Ah!"

"Oh, my gosh, I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's okay," Hikaru said, scratching his head. "Don't worry about it." He glanced at Tamaki, who kept sneaking looks Haruhi's way. Hikaru smiled down at her and gave her one spin towards Tamaki.

And he felt like crap. He could have danced with her a little. For some reason, he felt like he didn't deserve it.

Because he loved her.


	8. Chapter 8

Summer was upon them. Jasmine had convinced her mother that it would be less expensive for her to just stay in Japan. Jandra had flown back to Ireland the week after graduation, but there was always texting and internet. Jasmine was looking forward to getting some quality music-writing and –practicing time. During final exams, she hadn't touched her poor piano once.

The first day of vacation, Jasmine stayed up late working on a new song idea, and went to bed around two in the morning. She planned on sleeping until at least eleven before going to lunch.

Such was not the case.

At eight in the morning, there was a loud knock on her front door. With six hours of sleep, Jasmine was little more than a walking zombie. She had just enough mind to run a brush through her hair and slip her glasses on before checking the door.

"What?" she asked in English out of pure drowsiness. She woke up a little more when she realized that Tamaki was smiling down at her. "Tamaki?"

"Good morning, Jasmine!" he nearly shouted, the sound ringing in her newly awakened ears.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, leaning her forehead against the door jamb and closing her eyes. They were too heavy to stay open.

"We're going on," he began and got his face right next to hers, "a field trip, yo!" She opened her eyes.

"Ah!" she yelled and jumped back, not expecting his nose to be nearly touching hers. "Wait. What? A field trip?"

"You've got it!" Tamaki said. "I came to get you first, and we're going to get the rest of the club and Haruhi and we're going to the zoo!" Tamaki didn't notice the blank expression on Jasmine's face.

"Are you flipping serious?" she asked. "I was up until two in the morning and you wake me up at eight for the zoo?" She walked back to her room, leaving Tamaki standing in the doorway, his finger on his lip like a child.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, following, closing the front door behind him out of habit. "I hadn't realized. I need to think these things out a lot more," he mumbled, remembering their last field trip to the super market and Kyoya's death glare. "Hm?" He'd spotted her piano, which was cluttered with sheet music. Jasmine came back out of her room, now in proper clothes. Her glasses had been replaced with contact lenses, and her hair was somewhat tame.

"Do you want coffee?" she asked, heading to the kitchen, which was separated from the living room by a bar-like counter. "I've got regular, hazelnut, and French vanilla." Tamaki's ear quirked.

"French?" he asked, coming closer to examine the creamer. Jasmine giggled.

"Yeah, French," she said, making it without waiting for a straight answer. "It's my favorite flavor, honestly. And I saturate my coffee with creamer, too. I only like a little hint of the coffee flavor under the creamer." She chuckled as she started the coffee-maker. Tamaki had never seen one.

"So, it's not instant," he mumbled to himself. "Hm." Jasmine turned on her laptop, then pulled a carton of eggs out of the refrigerator.

"Did you eat yet?" she asked, pulling a pan out from the cupboard and setting it on the stovetop.

"No, I was too excited," he said as his stomach gurgled. "I should probably eat. The zoo doesn't have much food, does it?"

"It has some, but not real food," Jasmine said, cracking several eggs into the pan. "The zoos back home are more famous for their funnel cakes than anything else. Maybe cotton candy."

"What's a funnel cake?" Tamaki asked, taking a seat at the bar to give her room to walk around the kitchen.

"Well… have you ever had waffles?" she asked, pulling a few pieces of bread out of a loaf and sticking them into a toaster.

"Yes!" he said, remembering one of his educational experiences in the world of the commoners.

"It's like they take the batter for that and just swirl it around in oil and fry it," she said, motioning with her hands to try and illustrate. "And they top it with a bunch of confectioner's sugar. I don't know if Japanese zoos have them."

"Well, I know they have pocky," he said. "I prefer the strawberry pocky to the chocolate. Ooh!" Jasmine slid a plate in front of him with scrambled eggs and buttered toast.

"Here's your coffee," she said and placed the mug in front of him.

"Thank you," Tamaki said and waited for her to take her seat and start eating before he did, wanting to be polite. But Jasmine stayed in the kitchen, working on her laptop while eating.

"Let's get some music," she said and Tamaki heard the beginnings of one of his favorite songs.

"Clair de Lune!" he said happily. "That was the first song I memorized on the piano that wasn't required of me."

"That was the first one I memorized at all," she said. "I've never had lessons in my life."

"What? But you're so amazing at it!" Tamaki said, surprised.

"I taught myself," she said, mopping up the last of her eggs with her toast. "My mom got me a music theory teacher so I could learn to notate it, but the rest, I figured out on my own."

"That's pretty neat," Tamaki said. "I still take lessons on the weekends."

"Tamaki…"

"Yes?"

"Have you told the other club members we were going to the zoo today?" she asked. "Or were they all going to be surprised like I was?"

"No, they don't know," he said. "I like things to be exciting and surprising." He took a bite out of his toast. "What kind of bread is this?"

"It's German Rye," Jasmine said. "I like the taste of it. It goes with just about anything." Tamaki made a mental note to buy German Rye bread. "Tamaki? Do we have to go to the zoo?"

"Hmm? Why wouldn't we?" Tamaki asked, confused.

"I was thinking… we could work on your song," Jasmine said. "I did promise you I would help you last week."

"Oh…" Tamaki said, a bit shocked. "Um…"

"We can go to the zoo tomorrow, and give the others a heads up so they get enough sleep," Jasmine suggested. Tamaki thought this was wise. He'd almost left because he felt like he was too troublesome and inconsiderate to everyone. He'd already woken Jasmine up early. He really needed to think about other people more thoroughly and take these things into consideration.

"You're right," Tamaki said. "I should probably give a warning before I drag everyone on one of my field trips." Jasmine smiled.

"It would definitely make things go a lot smoother," she agreed. "You done?"

"Hm? Oh. Yeah."

She took his plate and washed it quickly in the sink before putting it back in the cupboard.

"Shall we?" she asked.

"Um, sure," he said and followed her back to the front room.

"Do you remember it all?" she asked, sitting on the edge of the piano bench. Tamaki took a seat next to her.

"I think so," he said. "I don't know if I can remember the part I added. I might get stuck again."

"We'll get it right," she said and grabbed blank staff paper and a pencil. "You just start playing and I'll make quick notation of the melody and chords." Jasmine was writing the notes on the staff as quickly as if she were writing what someone was saying to her. Tamaki did remember the addition he made to the song, and Jasmine took a minute to flesh out the notation she made.

"There," she said. "That's the basics of it, just so we don't forget." She sat and looked at the sheet music a moment in awe. "How did you come up with this? It's perfect." Tamaki blushed slightly.

"I wrote it for someone, actually," he said. "I want to give it words, but I have no idea what to do for it."

"Oh?" Jasmine asked, smiling. "Who'd you write it for?" She elbowed him playfully. Tamaki fiddled with his fingers before looking up at Jandra sheepishly.

"Promise you won't tell anyone?" he asked. Jasmine immediately turned serious.

"Of course," she said. "You can trust me."

"I've… well, I think I've… fallen in love," he said quietly, and gave an almost silent chuckle. Jasmine's heart was pounding all of a sudden.

"Who?"

Tamaki touched the piano keys lightly.

"Haruhi."

She knew it. She'd always known it. Why had she given herself a false sense of hope? The sadness and pain she felt for a moment was quickly shoved down into her stomach and hidden for later, when she was alone. She smiled at Tamaki.

"That's so sweet," she said. And it was true. "Was there anything in particular that you wanted to say to her with this song?" Tamaki thought a moment.

"I guess just how she makes me feel," he said eventually.

"Well, I have an idea," she said. "I'm not very good at writing lyrics, but I think that this is something you have to do on your own. It's personal and only you can write what you feel. How about we just play it over and over and you hum along on the melody and if words come to you, sing them. I want to try something out. Go ahead and start."

"I don't even know if I can sing," Tamaki admitted. "We'll see how this goes." He began playing the song again and hummed along a little. He got to the end of the chorus and came up with something. It was English, but he felt that was a more natural singing language. "I'm more afraid of losing you than anything before…" he trailed off. He hadn't realized Jasmine had picked up her guitar. She began to pick the chords out softly along with him, and he could hear the melody in there too. "Hey, yeah," he sang. "Ooh, oh, oh." All of a sudden an entire chorus popped into his head and he sang it. "I love, love, love you. I need, need, need you. I long, long, long to hold you in my arms again!" He took it up on an improvisation that made it sound so sad and heart-wrenching that Jasmine gasped slightly. "I'm so, so sad to ever hurt, hurt, hurt you. And I'm more afraid of losing you than anything before…" He waited for Jasmine to finish her guitar chord. She felt the same pause he did. "Please can I have one more… hello?" He played a few closing chords, and Jasmine played the last chord with him.

"Oh, wow, do that again," Jasmine said, getting excited. "I'll write down those words for the chorus. What did you think of the guitar coming in half-way through?"

"I thought that was perfect," Tamaki said. "I think I'm getting the hang of the whole lyric thing."

"I'll say," she said. "You just came up with that out of nowhere and it's absolutely perfect. Thank you for the breakfast and spending time with me on this. I actually think I want to brainstorm the verses on my own. I'll call you later and we'll discuss the zoo tomorrow. I'm just suddenly filled with ideas and I want to write them down and really get into this. Haruhi's going to love it! I think I know what I'm going to call it too!" He was walking towards the door as he said this, getting more and more excited as he went.

"What?"

He opened the door and turned back to look at her. He smiled widely.

"Hello, Beautiful," he said and closed the door behind him. If he'd stayed a second longer, he'd have seen the tear fall onto the sheet music Jasmine was leaning over, blotching out a penciled word, so it now read "I love, l , love you."


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, Tamaki went to gather the troops, so to speak. He went to Jasmine's first, since it was the closest to his home. She was ready to go before he arrived, and they went to the Twins' mansion.

"Hey, Jasmine, do you have a nickname?" Hikaru asked. "I was just thinking, we could call you Jazz!" Jasmine giggled.

"That's fine with me," she said.

"Awesome!" the twins said and gave each other a thumbs up. They'd been debating on asking her about it for a few days. Kaoru thought she would be annoyed.

"That name suits you," Tamaki said. "Jazz is a type of music, after all."

They picked up Honey and Mori from their dojo, then went to get Haruhi. The limo was getting crowded because the twins were roughhousing. All Jasmine could decipher of their conversation was "elephant" and "confetti". Quite frankly, she did not want to know.

When they pulled up in front of Haruhi's apartment building, Tamaki rushed for the door, but couldn't maneuver through the people (okay, the twins).

"Jasmine, would you mind going and getting Haruhi since you're by the door and can actually get out of he—Ah! Hey!"

"Sorry, boss!" Hikaru apologized for kicking him in the arm.

"Sure," Jasmine said and went up to Haruhi's door and knocked. Her father answered the door.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"I'm here to pick up Haruhi," Jasmine said, giving a little bow. He took a slightly comical defensive stance.

"Who are you and what do you want with my daughter?" he nearly screamed. "She's already been abducted by girls I didn't know before, and I will not let that happen aga—"

"Calm down, dad," Haruhi said, walking around him and outside. "This is Jasmine. I told you about her."

"Oh." He stood up straight and smiled. "Have fun now!" Haruhi grabbed Jasmine's arm and pulled her down the stairs to the limo. Which was rocking back and forth.

"Do I want to know?" Haruhi asked. Jasmine laughed.

"Not really," she said. "It's the twins. They should calm down when it gets crowded."

"The key word being 'should'," Haruhi said while climbing into the limo. She had no choice but to sit next to Tamaki.

"Haruhi!" he shouted and threw his arms around her, adding to the cramped feeling in the small space. "I'm so happy to see you! We are going to have so much fun!"

"Hello to you too, senpai," Haruhi mumbled. Jasmine giggled and looked out the tinted window, not wanting to acknowledge the changes in Tamaki's actions. He had not once called himself Haruhi's father since the day she stopped him from leaving. He'd confessed only just yesterday to Jasmine that he was in love with Haruhi. Everything he did seemed to scream rejection at her.

Fortunately for her, she was good at keeping a mask on default: a relaxed expression.

They pulled up to Kyoya's house.

"I'll be right back," Jasmine said before Tamaki could even begin to ask her.

"You're going to have to STOP MOVING!" she heard Haruhi yell at the twins as the door closed behind her. At least things would be calmer when she returned. Kyoya's sister answered the door.

"He's almost ready," she said. "His room is down the hall at the very end."

"Thank you," Jasmine said with a little bow and went to wait for Kyoya. The door was open and she could hear Kyoya muttering to himself, so it was easy to find his room. "Kyoya-senpai?"

"Ah, Jasmine," Kyoya said, sitting on a couch and putting on a shoe. "Have a seat, if you would. I have a few things I want to check before I go out for the day." He motioned next to him on the couch.

"Thank you." She sat and looked around Kyoya's room. It was big. It was like he had a house within a house, and his bedroom was up in the loft. He even had his own bathroom, complete with Jacuzzi, and mini bar. Kyoya finished lacing his shoes and went to his desk to check things on his laptop.

It amazed Jasmine how well he and Tamaki complimented and contradicted each other. Polar opposites, yet they both strive for the same things, albeit in completely different fashions. She'd been unintentionally staring at Kyoya's jaw, simply because her eyes locked there and her mind was somewhere else completely.

"It's impolite to stare," Kyoya's voice said. She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head.

"Sorry," she said. "I zoned out a bit." She looked him in the eyes. She couldn't tell if they were black, grey, or a metallic-y silver-ish….

"You seem to be making that a habit," he remarked. "Am I really that fascinating?" Jasmine shook her head again.

"Sorry," she said again. "I just still haven't figured out what color your eyes are." Kyoya paused in his typing. He was reminded impeccably of Tamaki.

"You linger on the most trivial things," he said and shut down the computer. "Let's go. Tamaki will wonder if we've run off to live in Fiji or something."

"He would," Jasmine remarked. Sure enough they could hear Tamaki's voice as soon as they stepped outside. When the door opened—

"I'm telling you, they've run off to the tropical island of Fiji and are planning to get married WITHOUT US there and they're going to buy the whole island and rent out hotel rooms to—"

Tamaki was greeted with the blank expressions of the supposedly eloped couple. He cringed back into his seat at the expression on Kyoya's face, but more-so at Jasmine's.

"Eeek!" he squeaked. "Kyoya, Jasmine's giving you a run for your money in the scary department." The two sighed and squeezed into the limo. As a consequence, Haruhi was almost under Tamaki.

"Can't… breathe…"

"Let us help with this a bit," the twins chorused and grabbed Haruhi, placing her in their laps.

"Well this is awkward," Haruhi mumbled.

"Ooh!" Honey yelled. "No, here, I'll sit on Takashi's lap and then we can all go back to where we were! I'm smallest, so I won't be too heavy for Takashi to hold." Tamaki leapt at Honey's offer and pulled Haruhi back to his side.

"Shady twins," he mumbled. The only ones not watching this whole event were Jasmine and Kyoya, who were staring out the window, their chins resting on their hands in an almost clone-like way.

"We're here!" Honey yelled, pressing his little nose against the window excitedly. The people walking into the zoo looked at the limo curiously. Kyoya opened the door.


	10. Chapter 10

Haruhi didn't know how she got in this state, but she was certain the twins were behind it. She cautiously reached a finger up to her eye and wiped the confectioner's sugar out of it. She saw the entirety of the host club frozen in fear, watching her with anticipation.

She was by no means the only one covered in sugar. The only one not completely covered in the white powder was Kyoya. How he had managed that when he was standing practically in the middle of the group was beyond her, but it was probably best that he wasn't agitated.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki yelled and rushed up to her, leaving a cloud of white in his wake. "Are you all right?"

"It's just sugar, senpai," Haruhi said, shaking the majority of it out of her hair and blinking widely. She sneezed and a little puff of white blew out. Tamaki laughed. "How did we get like this anyways?" Everyone looked at the twins.

"Funnel cake," they said.

Everyone burst into laughter. Kyoya laid a hand on Tamaki's shoulder.

"You should get cleaned up," he said. "Follow me!" he announced and led them back out through the entrance gate into the parking lot.

"Oh, dear Lord!" Jasmine cried out in English. She recognized the Otori family's private police uniforms on those men. And they had a fire truck. They were already getting the hose ready.

"Shower time," Kyoya commented and walked out of the way. They didn't have a chance to register what was going to happen or prepare themselves. They were all thrust backwards a few feet when the water crashed into them. Once they got over the initial shock of it all, they started having fun. The twins even managed to sneak up behind Kyoya and drag him into the line of fire—I mean water—as well.

Soon, the truck was packed up to leave and the group was walking through the zoo again. They hadn't made it past the first concession stand, and the day was still young.

"Oh, no," Jasmine whined, running her hands through her hair, attempting to get the water out. "My hair is going to frizz if it air dries."

Tamaki found the penguins almost immediately.

"They're so cute!" he exclaimed.

"Oh look!" Honey shouted. "They have pony rides!"

"Oh look at the peacocks," Haruhi commented. "They're just walking around loose."

"I want to pet a shark!" the twins called. Kyoya was making note of what everyone wanted to do and quickly had a time table made up for their day at the zoo.

Kaoru had been watching Jasmine all day. She really was adorable when she got frustrated. Her face would go red and she lost her way with words, stuttering and mumbling. And what she considered frizz, he thought suited her. He kept remembering watching her play piano the day he met her. She was so full of passion. It was like music was her way of saying what she really felt.

They were on their way to the polar bears and Jasmine was watching Tamaki and Haruhi. Tamaki would grab Haruhi's hand and point out some tiny, insignificant thing with excitement. Jasmine saw Haruhi make a sarcastic comment back, then when Tamaki turned away, she would have a small smile on her face.

"What are you looking at?" Kaoru asked her.

"They're cute, aren't they?" Jasmine whispered, crossing her arms over her chest. Kaoru followed her gaze.

"I don't know," he said. "They look kind of cliché to me." But he was smiling. Jasmine playfully nudged him with her elbow. She'd thought long and hard about this last night. She loved Tamaki, she knew that much for certain. She also knew that he and Haruhi were perfect for each other. She had come to the conclusion that if she really loved Tamaki, she would want what was best for him, even if it meant she would miss out. So she had decided that she would do her best to help Tamaki win Haruhi's heart, because, believe it or not, Haruhi really was oblivious and needed a little nudge here and there.

"I think they're perfect for each other," she said, even though her heart ached. She would get used to that because it was definitely not going to get any better, so she might as well become numb to it.

Kaoru got a sly idea.

"Why don't we play matchmaker, then?" he said. Jasmine looked up at him and smirked.

"Already one step ahead of you."

The day at the zoo had been fun, even if Honey got bucked off the pony. He landed on his own two feet, quite literally and exclaimed "That was fun!" to the astonishment of the woman leading the horse, who nearly had a heart attack at the thought of injuring a small child on her first day on the job.

Jasmine and Kaoru had decided to play a game. It wasn't so much a competition, since they would be helping each other out anyways in the process, as it was a challenge. They would not rest until they had Tamaki and Haruhi married.

It would be a long and tiring game.


	11. Chapter 11

Jasmine was typing away on her computer, discussing strategies with Kaoru, when she received a text message.

"Hm?" she mumbled to herself. "Hikaru…." She quickly replied and closed the phone. Why did Hikaru want to come over? It was the middle of the summer. Surely he had better things to do. She'd said he could come over whenever he wanted. Moments later, there was a knock on her door. She rushed to let him in.

"I knew you lived close, but jeez," she said, closing the door behind him. But Hikaru was not there for small talk. He had a mission.

"What are you and Kaoru planning?" he asked. He seemed irritated. Probably because Kaoru wasn't telling him.

"We're getting Tamaki and Haruhi together," she said flatly.

"Why?" he nearly shouted. "Why not just let them realize it on their own?"

"Because they never will!" she screeched, then sighed and put a hand on her forehead. He just had to pick the week she was on her period to contradict her. "I'm sorry, I just… It's a bad week for me." She walked back to the laptop. Hikaru followed, still slightly taken aback by her outburst. "Look," she turned to look at him. He was a good five or six inches taller than her. "I know that you like Haruhi."

"How did you know that?" He was slightly freaked out by that.

"I figured you out," she stated simply. "I'm good at that. Which is how I know that Haruhi loves Tamaki. She really does. And Tamaki told me himself that he loves Haruhi."

Hikaru stared at the floor, his heart dropping down into his stomach. This wasn't fair. He began to get angry because that was the only way his body knew how to react. He had never cried.

"If you know that I like her, why did you tell me that?" he asked.

"Because I know you don't like people to treat you like a child," Jasmine said and grabbed his chin, making him look at her. "You deserve to know the truth, and I expect you to handle it like the adult I know you are."

"I—"

"Will you help me?" she interjected. "You may as well. For Haruhi's happiness."

"Why the hell would I help her get together with someone else?" Hikaru shouted. "What kind of a motive is that?"

"Mine," Jasmine said quietly, her jaw quivering. "It's my motive, so why can't it be yours?"

"What do you mean it's your motive?" Hikaru asked. Jasmine let out a shaky breath through her nose.

"Tamaki's happiness," she began, "is the most important thing to me. And if he can't be with me, then God damn it, he will be with her!"

"I don't understand—"

"For God's sake, Hikaru!" Jasmine cried. "I'm in love with Tamaki Suoh!" She threw her hand over her mouth and sobbed quietly. She dropped to her knees as Hikaru stood just inside the hallway watching her. "I've never said that out loud." She folded in on herself, clutching her stomach. "It hurts."

Hikaru didn't know what to do. He was rubbish when it came to crying girls. So he just stood there waiting for her to talk again. A few minutes later, she sat up and leaned back, sitting on her feet. She wiped away the tears that were still falling.

"That's why I have to do this," she said calmly. "Not everyone gets a happy ending, and I'd rather him be happy and I be miserable than me be happy and him be miserable."

Was that true? Hikaru thought. Would Haruhi be miserable if she was with him because she didn't love him?

"Do you understand now?" Jasmine asked. Hikaru's throat tightened slightly and he cleared his throat before answering.

"Yes," he said. Jasmine stood and grabbed a tissue from the counter.

"Will you help us?" She blew her nose.

"No," Hikaru said. Jasmine nodded her head and gave a small smile. "But I won't get in your way either." He felt awful for making her cry like that. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know you loved him. If I had, I wouldn't have demanded an explanation. I know it hurts."

"It's not your fault you're incredibly dense," she joked. "Thank you for your apology." He nodded and headed for the door. He needed a drink. "Hikaru?" He stopped, but didn't turn.

"What?"

"How can you not react?" she asked. "You love Haruhi, right? How do you not show your pain even a little bit?"

He did not answer, but kept walking out the door. Jasmine rushed after him and shouted from the threshold.

"At least cry!" she screeched, throwing her dirty tissue after him. It fell pitifully to the sidewalk and she watched him slide into the back seat of a limo. She slammed the door behind her and marched back to her conversation with Kaoru.

"Smack your brother across the face for me please," she said.

"Gladly," Kaoru replied. "Mind if I ask why?"

"He's a stubborn mule and shows no feeling!" she ranted. "He didn't even cry when I told him we were helping the love of his life get with someone else."

"Love of his life? Wow… He's home. Be right back."

Jasmine waited.

"Message delivered…. I think he's headed for the cellar."

"Why? What's in the cellar?"

"The rum."

Oh God….

"I've driven him to drink," she said aloud.


	12. Chapter 12

The very last day of summer vacation was when all of Jasmine and Kaoru's planning finally came through and they made their first step towards getting Tamaki and Haruhi married. Jasmine squealed with delight at her computer screen. She called up Kaoru.

"Guess what's going to happen tonight?" she asked.

"What?" Kaoru asked, getting excited by the tone of her voice. He liked seeing her excited about things.

"Thunder storm."

The two smirked almost evilly.

Tamaki walked into the third music room and turned on the lights. Things were dusty. Soon after he arrived, Kaoru walked through the door.

"Hello, boss," he said and proceeded to help him clean up and prepare the room for tomorrow, like Kaoru had suggested over the phone. Tamaki didn't even think about the school having maids to do this job.

"Hello, Kaoru," Tamaki said, finding a broom from a little closet.

"You want to do the floors last," Jasmine said as she entered carrying rags. "Here. You can work over there, I'll work here—"

"I can work over here," Haruhi said as she too entered the room. Jasmine and Kaoru smirked. Perfect.

"Kaoru, help me get some more rags," Jasmine said.

"Okay," Kaoru said and followed Jasmine out of the room. They closed the doors quietly behind them. Jasmine pulled out the chain that normally locked her bike to the bike racks, and they proceeded to lock the two door handles together so the doors wouldn't open.

Haruhi glanced out the window and stopped in her tracks. A large cloud was heading their way, and fast.

"S—senpai," she said hesitantly. Tamaki followed her gaze.

"Uh-oh," he whispered. He knew Haruhi was terrified of thunder and lightning. He quickly closed the drapes, making the room slightly dimmer. "Do you have headphones or anything?"

"No," Haruhi said and peeked through the curtains. It was here.

There was a bright flash of lightning and the thunder cracked. Haruhi gave an involuntary squeal, jumping back from the window and covering her ears.

"Let's try to get to the center of the building," Tamaki said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "The thunder should be harder to hear." Haruhi beat him to the door.

"It won't open," she said, getting nervous. Tamaki grabbed the handles and turned them, but the doors would not budge.

"Kaoru! Jasmine!" he yelled, but there was no reply. "They'll be back soon. They should be able to get the doors open from the outside. It looked like the handles had been bound together with a cable or something."

It dawned on him. Jasmine knew he loved Haruhi and Kaoru was able to read people well, so he could know. Was this a setup? To try to get him to tell her how he felt? He began to sweat.

Thunder rumbled through the room again and Haruhi dropped to the floor, clamping her hands over her ears. Tamaki knelt next to her. He placed one hand on the back of her head and the other on her back, resting her forehead on his chest.

Thunder crashed again, and she began to shake.

"It's okay," he whispered into her ear. He rubbed her back, trying to calm her down and just let her know he was there. He could feel her move her hands because one of them brushed his jaw, and she clenched her fingers around his shirt.

"I'm scared," she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. She sniffed and when another crash of thunder echoed in the room, she pulled down on his shirt simply to have something to hold.

Tamaki leaned back a little and put his hands over hers. After a moment, he pried her hands off his shirt and just held her hands.

The next flash of lightning could be seen through the curtains and the floor shook with the thunder. The power went out.

Haruhi froze, her eyes wide.

"Tamaki…" she whimpered.

"I'm right here," he answered and gave her hands a light squeeze. "You're all right."

Lightning flashed and Haruhi used the temporary light to move. She wound her arms around Tamaki's waist and buried her face in his chest again. Tamaki held her again, running his fingers through her short hair. It was getting longer. She'd be able to put it up in so many cute styles soon. He kissed the top of her head without realizing it. Thunder crashed again and she whimpered and squeezed him tighter. He hated seeing her scared like this. What helped him calm down when he was scared?

He began to hum quietly as he played with her hair. It took a few moments, but Tamaki's voice was so soothing and the melody he was humming was pretty. She tried to focus only on his voice, shutting out the thunder. She could still feel it vibrating the floor and she shook a little, but didn't want to make any noise to interrupt the song.

She tried to think logically. The only ways of her knowing about the thunder was the sound and the vibration. She already blocked out the sound by focusing on Tamaki's voice. She needed to get off the floor.

Tamaki stopped humming. More thunder rumbled.

"Tamaki?" Haruhi asked.

"What is it, Haruhi?" Tamaki said soothingly, still playing with her hair.

"That's a pretty song," she said. "It helps when you sing. I can focus on that and block out the thund—" Thunder cut her off and she gasped. "Um, can we move?" She went and sat on a couch, folding her feet underneath her. Tamaki followed slowly.

"Do you want me to sing more?" Tamaki asked. "Does it really help?" Haruhi nodded.

"Yes," she whispered. So he hummed his song again. Haruhi closed her eyes and rested her head against the couch. They were both sitting sideways, backs against an armrest and feet on the couch. It was one of the smaller couches, so their shoes were almost touching. She still flinched a little when the thunder sounded, but at least she didn't seem as scared. Tamaki took her hands and held them, rubbing the backs of them with his thumbs as he hummed his song over and over.

"Does that song not have words?" Haruhi asked. "Or is it one of your classical ones that you play?"

"It has words," Tamaki said. "I'm kind of saving the words for a more special occasion. I don't want you to hear them yet."

"Senpai, you know how I feel about surprises," she said. Tamaki thought a moment. He loved her. Why not tell her?

"Are you sure you want to know the words?" he asked. "I wrote it for you."

"You wrote it?" Haruhi asked, sitting up straight. Tamaki nodded.

"Jasmine helped me a little bit," he admitted. "I kind of want you to hear it with the piano and guitar too, so I'll just sing the chorus, okay?" Haruhi nodded. Tamaki couldn't believe he was about to do this. He blew air through his lips and cleared his throat.

He found her eyes in the darkness, some light finding its way through the window.

"I love, love, love you," he sang. "I need, need, need you. I long, long, long to hold you in my arms again. I'm so, so sad to ever hurt, hurt, hurt you. I'm more afraid of losing you than anything before…." He trailed off and let her think about it for a while. "It sounds better with the piano and guitar, I promise—"

"You love me?"

"Well… yes," he said. There was no point in beating around the bush. "I love you… with all of my heart." Haruhi was picking at her nails when the power came back on. They both blinked at the light and sat up straight on the couch. Tamaki cleared his throat quietly. She was taking a long time to say anything.

"Tamaki?"

He looked at her.

"Haruhi?"

"Can you…" she trailed off, wondering if she would sound too forward.

"What?"

"Will you kiss me?" she asked, her face turning bright red. Tamaki blinked once.

"Oh," he said. "Uh… I…"

"Because," Haruhi interrupted his stuttering. "Because I love you too." Tamaki stared at her for a while, not daring to believe his ears. "I love you, and I want you to…."

"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice squeaking a little. He cleared his throat and asked again. "Are you sure?" Haruhi's eyebrows knit together a little.

"Tamaki," she said sternly.

"Okay," he said and leaned in, slowing down the closer he got. "Haruhi…" he whispered, his breath tickling her nose. She smiled a little. He traced his fingers along her jaw lightly and touched his lips to hers so gently she almost didn't feel it. He pulled back enough to look into her eyes. He smiled and she leaned in this time.

"You can do better than that, Tamaki," she said, bringing their lips together again. She held his face close, running both hands through his hair. It was so silky and smooth. And he smelled amazing, too. The sources of the good hair and smell were most likely expensive and foreign.

Tamaki didn't really know what to do. He was all talk and no game when it came to girls. He placed a hesitant hand on her waist and just went with it. Her lips were so soft it surprised him.

They both pulled back for air. They took a minute to catch their breath.

"So you're my boyfriend now?" Haruhi asked. "Is that what this means?" Tamaki chuckled.

"If you'd like," he said. "Would that make you my girlfriend?" he teased. She laughed.

"Yes, it would," she said and stood. She peeked through the curtain. "Looks like the storm is over."

Tamaki went to the door. There was a slip of paper on the floor just inside the room, folded in half. It had his name on it. He opened it and smiled.

"You're welcome. Jasmine and Kaoru."

He pocketed the note, and turned to Haruhi.

"The door's open," he said.

"Oh, good," she said. "I still have to run to the grocery store and get bread and milk."

Tamaki smiled as she slipped past him out into the hallway. Things hadn't changed all that much after all. And yet, he would never be the same.


	13. Chapter 13

The next day at school, it was agreed upon by the entire Host Club that Tamaki would no longer be a host. He felt that all of his affections now belonged to Haruhi alone and the other members agreed. Hikaru was silent for the entire meeting and the twins' guests noticed, but didn't say anything.

Kaoru knew that Hikaru loved Haruhi, so he wasn't surprised and tried to be comforting to his older brother. Hikaru pretended to be deaf for the day.

"Hikaru, where are you going?" Kaoru asked when his brother didn't get into their car after school.

"I'm walking home," he said. Kaoru hesitated, then slipped into the car and rode home. Hikaru went straight to Jasmine's house. She didn't lock her door, so he just walked right in without even knocking. He found her sitting at her piano, turned around on the bench to see who had stopped by.

"Hikaru," she said blankly. She wasn't really in the mood to talk either. "What are you doing here?" Hikaru stood next to her, trying not to let his anger show.

"Happy?" he asked, staring at the floor. She knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Yes and no," she replied.

"That doesn't even make any sense," he growled. "Either you're happy or you aren't."

"I'm happy that they're happy," she clarified. "But I'm not happy that I'm alone." She hiccupped quietly. Hikaru looked at her. She'd been crying before he got here. "I'm not happy that nobody wants to be with me."

"Well, it's your own damn fault!" Hikaru yelled. "You could have done this differently and we'd both be happy!"

"No, I wouldn't," she said and wiped at her nose. "He doesn't love me and that's that. There's nothing else to it. You can't make someone love you." She turned back to her piano and began playing some melancholy tune. It made him feel sick.

"You still didn't have to shove them in the other direction!" he yelled. She played louder. Each depressing note tore at his already defeated heart. Without thinking, he drew his arm around and slapped her across the face. He gasped silently as the piano stopped and waited for her to move. He hadn't meant to, but he would not apologize.

Jasmine stared at Hikaru's shoes for a few seconds, waiting for her vision to return. Then she stood. Hikaru took a step back. He could hear his heart beating in his ears. She brought her eyes up slowly and he felt like she was looking through him into his soul. He could see the mark of his hand starting to burn brightly on her cheek. He thought for sure she was going to slap him back.

He nearly passed out when she put her arms around him and embraced him. He just stood there with his arms pinned to his sides and stared down at the top of her head.

"Thank you," she said. "I needed that."

"Uh," he said. "No problem…. How was that helpful?"

"I hadn't been thinking of you," she said. "I acted without the slightest real consideration for your feelings. I thought of you as a necessary casualty, just like I saw myself as one. I'm sorry, Hikaru, and I hope you won't think less of me than you already do." He could feel her warm tears starting to seep through his shirt.

"Why is it that every time I visit you, you wind up in tears?" he asked. She leaned away slightly but kept her hands on his arms.

"Well, the one thing we both relate to each other with is the one thing that hurts us the most," she reasoned. "You need to let yourself go a lot more often."

"You call slapping someone across the face letting myself go?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "And you think I need to do more of it."

"Well, maybe not slapping people per se," she amended. "But it was a start. Personally, I like to compose." She sat back down at the piano. "Let all my sorrows and despair seep out through the vibrating cords of a minor seventh." She played a minor seventh. "It almost makes me feel like the piano shares in my pain." She gave a small chuckle. "It's silly."

"It's not silly," Hikaru said. She looked up at him as if to say "yeah right." "All right, maybe it's a little silly. But it makes sense. Misery loves company, they say."

"It does, indeed." She closed the piano and walked to the living room. Hikaru followed hesitantly and sat next to her on the couch.

"It doesn't hurt, does it?" he asked, eyeing his hand print on her face.

"No," she said. "Just stung for a few seconds."

"That's good," Hikaru said. "Not the stinging, but that it doesn't hurt anymore…." She smiled.

"I forgive you," she said and stood up.

"H-hey!" He followed. "I never apologized!"

"I didn't say you did," she said, getting out lunch meats to make a sandwich. "I still forgive you. Want a snack?"

"I…"

"We've got bologna, corned beef, turkey, ham… Take your pick." She laid out said lunch meats on the counter. He just looked at them.

"You eat commoners' food," he said, a little bit shocked.

"I eat what I like," she corrected. "I could live off of ramen alone and be content. I like simplicity."

"I don't know if I've ever had these foods," he said, picking up the package of corned beef and inspecting it. "At least not store-bought." Jasmine took the pack from him and shoved him away lightly.

"Go take a seat," she said and proceeded to make four half-sandwiches of each meat with various things on them. "Do you like pickles?"

"Dill," he said. "Or spicy."

"You will find no spicy things in this house," Jasmine warned. "Just warning you. You won't find any ridiculously sweet things either. Only if I plan on having Honey-senpai over for dinner. Then I would stock up on cake. Mustard or mayonnaise?"

"Either one."

"Any cheese?"

"Do you have Swiss?"

"Yes, sir," she said and finished up the sandwiches quickly. She chopped the halves in half and rearranged them so they both had a quarter of each kind of sandwich. "Dig in. Want a soda?"

"What kind?"

"I've got Ramuné and a few American drinks like Root Beer and Dr. Pepper," she said as she pulled out a Dr. Pepper for herself. Hikaru was feeling adventurous today.

"Give me a Root Beer," he said and took a bite of the first sandwich.

"It's not really beer, if that's what you're thinking," she said with a chuckle. "How is it?"

"It's pretty good," he said. "I can almost feel my arteries clogging up." They laughed.

"It's actually not that bad for you," Jasmine said. "At least the turkey and ham aren't. I can't say as much for the bologna."

They spent another hour or so chit-chatting, trying to forget about the pain they both were feeling. Hikaru tried to at least begin to forgive and forget, but he still felt deep down in his heart that it was all Jasmine's fault that he was in pain. And yet, he didn't think he could talk to even Kaoru about this because he didn't understand.

Jasmine did.


	14. Chapter 14

A lot had changed over the summer and Jandra was kind of sad she missed out. She'd had fun spending time with her dad, but she wished she had been around for things like the infamous zoo field trip. There were so many instances where someone would say "You had to be there" and she felt left out. But now that she was back, she and Jasmine spent a lot of time together.

They made sure to go to the Host Club every time the doors were open, to help support the club while they searched for new members from the underclassmen. Out of habit, the girls picked the twins every time, but they weren't really interested in being flirted with. Well, Jasmine wasn't. Jandra couldn't help but notice that something had changed in Hikaru since she'd left. He almost looked older, in a way. Every time he looked at her, her stomach did a back flip. At first, she thought she was getting sick, but then she started to recognize it as attraction and she started to blush whenever he talked to her.

The girls were walking together on their way home when Jandra spoke up.

"Jasmine, have you noticed anything different about Hikaru?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Yeah," Jasmine said. "He's struggling a little right now."

"With what?" Jandra asked, getting worried.

"I'm sorry, but it's not my place to tell you," Jasmine said as she turned into her driveway. "Only Hikaru can decide to entrust you with that. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you," Jandra said and walked the rest of the way home.

What did she mean by that? What was Hikaru struggling with that he could tell Jasmine, but not her? She felt a pang of jealousy towards Jasmine, then immediately felt guilty for thinking that of her friend. It wasn't her fault that she had spent more time with Hikaru these past few months.

Come to think of it, something had changed about Jasmine as well. It wasn't very noticeable, but whenever she drifted off into space like she always did, she looked a little sad. But then she would come back to reality and smile, making Jandra forget all about it.

The thing was that both Hikaru and Jasmine had changed, and it was something that only they knew about. Had something happened between them? Or was it all in Jandra's head?

"Kaoru might know."

Kaoru was getting kind of impatient. Lately, he hadn't seen as much of Jasmine as he had during the summer because of schoolwork, and he did not like it. He messaged her and texted her, but it wasn't the same. He almost wanted to just move all of his stuff over to her place so they could hang out after school. That was all the time they had during the school year.

And nowadays, spending time with Jasmine meant spending time with Jandra. It truly creeped him out that they weren't really twins because they seemed like they were all of the time, even when they weren't trying. But Kaoru felt like he'd lost any real closeness with Jasmine because they were never alone like they had been all summer.

He was beginning to remind himself of Hikaru, who had little patience when his feelings were involved. He'd thought they were doing so well, and he was just waiting for the opportune moment to make his move. But no time felt right, especially with other people around.

Kaoru was not looking forward to his English presentation. He was paired with Tamaki-senpai. (They were in the same class because Kaoru was in advanced English.) He wanted to just do it on his own, but they weren't allowed. The teacher said something about "group participation" points or something like that. Knowing Tamaki, Kaoru would probably wind up doing most of the work anyways, simply because most of what Tamaki did wouldn't even be relevant to the topic.

They were supposed to be talking about ways that English is used today in popular culture, and it had to be at least three minutes long. Kaoru sighed as he was led to Tamaki's room by an elderly maid. At least Tamaki had crazy and interesting ideas to work with.

"Oh, Kaoru," Tamaki said when he opened his door. "Come on in. I've got a few ideas ready that I want to throw your way."

"Okay," Kaoru said and dropped his bag next to the extremely large bed. There was hardly anything else in this room except that bed. It was bigger than a king sized.

"Wait, we're going through here," Tamaki instructed and led Kaoru through another door into a second room. This one was more like a study, except there was a grand piano in the corner. Figures. He set his bag on the piano bench.

"All right, senpai, what are your ideas?" Kaoru asked, wanted to get the vetoing over with early.

"All right, this is my favorite," Tamaki said excitedly. "We write a song."

Kaoru stared at him.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes!" Tamaki said, pacing the room. "We write a song in English and play it for our presentation, after a little introduction, of course. I mean, no one else will be doing it, that's for sure. And I've been writing songs in English recently and I want practice."

Tamaki waited for a decision.

"Let's do it."

Considering the song was written very quickly and in a foreign language, Kaoru would say they did a pretty good job. The process was basically Tamaki goofing off on the piano until something stuck out to him, then they would discuss what they think the music was trying to say (Kaoru pretended to go along with that part) and Kaoru wrote out the final lyric and arranged a way for them to record it for the class. They wouldn't actually have to perform it in front of them.

Then Kaoru was struck with an even better idea. They made a music video for the song, with clips of them collaborating and strategically chosen video clips from around school playing behind the song.

Needless to say, they got an A+. And Tamaki didn't even have to sweet talk the teacher.


	15. Chapter 15

Schoolwork had taken over everyone's lives. At least it felt that way to everyone. Jandra thought it made the time go faster, because Christmas break was upon them so fast she'd almost completely missed autumn. She started thinking quickly about what to get everyone for Christmas. Maybe she'd just knit scarves for everyone. That would be cheapest. She may be a blue-blood but she still liked to think smart when it came to money, considering the source of her family's money could go belly-up at any time. She felt like she wanted to get something better for Jasmine (and Hikaru, too) than a scarf. Maybe a painting, she thought to herself as she returned home from the last day of school of that year.

She'd start brainstorming ideas for the two paintings tonight, then start working on the sketches and planning and whenever she felt like she had "artist's block," she could work on a scarf.

"Let's see, Honey and Mori are coming to our party," she told herself as she pulled out a notebook and pen and began to make a list of names. "Honey, Mori, Kyoya, Tamaki, Hikaru, Kaoru, Haruhi, Jasmine." She smiled and put "Usa-chan" next to Honey's name. She'd make Usa-chan a scarf if she had time. "Pink for Honey and Usa-chan, black for Mori, purple for Kyoya, royal blue for Tamaki, varied shades of orange for Kaoru, varied shades of blue for Hikaru, varied shades of green for Haruhi, and maybe a special music note pattern for Jasmine."

She turned the page and began writing down ideas for her paintings. When there was a knock on the door, she quickly shut the notebook and answered it.

"Hi, Jasmine!" she said and gave her "sister" a hug. "Come on in."

"Hey, I was wondering if you could help me out," Jasmine said, leaving her shoes by the doorway. They were getting better at that part of Japanese culture.

"What with?" Jandra asked, setting the notebook aside and both girls sat on the couch Indian style.

"Christmas presents for everyone," Jasmine said. "I have no idea what to get everyone." Jandra laughed.

"I was just working on mine myself when you came," she said. "Truthfully, I was just going to knit scarves for everyone."

"Oh my goodness, I was thinking about crocheting hats for everyone!" Jasmine said. "That's funny. We should make them match." Jandra laughed again.

"That would be amusing," she said. "We could work on them together, too, when we hang out, and keep it a secret from everyone. But we'll keep the ones we're making for each other hidden, to not ruin the surprise completely."

"That sounds like a plan," Jasmine said.

"I already made a list of the colors I want to use for everyone," Jandra said, pulling the notebook over. "We can go get yarn now if you'd like. I also have some neat patterns I was going to use so not each one looks the same."

"Good idea," Jasmine said. "Do you think we should bring the boys to help carry all that yarn? They'll have no idea what it's for. And that is a lot of yarn." By "the boys" she meant the twins.

"Sure," Jandra said. "You call them and I'll make a quick list of just the colors so they won't get suspicious when they see their names." Jasmine chuckled and pulled out her phone.

"Okay," she said and dialed. Jandra made a list that said, "Pink, black, purple, royal blue, variegated orange, variegated blue, variegated green." "I think we should wait and buy the yarn for our gifts separately so we don't spoil it."

"Good idea," Jasmine said. "The boys are on their wa—" There was a knock at the door.

"I swear, they live too close," Jandra said and the girls gathered their things and left for the art supplies store.

Jasmine and Jandra walked quietly down the hallways of the Hitachiin home. The maids had let them in and they made their way to the twins' rooms, ready to surprise the brothers.

"I'll get Hikaru, you get Kaoru," Jasmine said and they split up. Jasmine snuck into Hikaru's room and approached his bed. He was sprawled out with all four limbs hanging over an edge and his face buried in his pillow. The sheets were mostly on the floor, none of them sheltering the boy from the cold. She smiled at his pajama pants; they had zoo animals on them. He really was just a little boy at heart.

She glanced at the wall that separated the boys' rooms and pounced.

"Hyuu!" she yelled and practically glomped him in his sleep.

"Whaaa?" Hikaru shouted into his pillow. "What the hell?" He turned slightly, to find a girl sitting on his back. "Jasmine?" he asked. "What are you doing?"

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" she said excitedly. "Look outside!" Hikaru just moaned and put his head back down, closing his eyes and pulling the covers over his body.

"Who let you in, anyway?" he said.

"Your maids, dummy," she said and nearly skipped over to the window. She threw back the curtains with flair. The blinding white light filtering in made Hikaru squint. "Come look!" She shoved him, trying to get him to get up.

"Mm-mm," he grunted. Jasmine sighed and yanked the covers completely off of the bed. "Ah!" he yelled, curling up into a ball. "It's too cold! Give that back!"

"Nope," Jasmine said. "You have to get up and get dressed and we're going to go out and have a battle."

"A battle?" Hikaru asked, sitting up in bed and rubbing his arms. "What kind of nonsense are you talking, woman?" Jasmine hopped onto the bed and sat on her hands and knees, smiling up into her friend's face.

"We're going to have a snowball fight," she said. His eyes widened.

"It snowed?" he asked and rushed over to the window. "Holy crap, it snowed." He could hardly see anything but white.

"Get dressed!" Jasmine said, pulling out random clothes from his drawers. They heard a yell from next door.

"Holy crap, it snowed!" Kaoru shouted.

It was girls against boys in the ultimate snowball fight on the Hitachiin estate property. They weren't really keeping track of who was winning or losing. After three hours of running around screaming, Jandra and Hikaru threw snowballs at the same time, hitting Kaoru and Jasmine, effectively sending them down into the snow.

"Bull's eye!" Hikaru yelled. "Kaoru?"

"I give up," came a muffled reply from under the snow.

"Truce?" Jandra called from their snow fort.

"Yeah," Hikaru answered, giving his brother a hand. The boys walked over to where the girls were and plopped down in the snow next to them.

"Well that was eventful," Jasmine commented. "I think I have snow _in_ my bra."

"Sorry," Hikaru said, earning a collective laugh from the group.

"This was fun," Kaoru said.

"Yeah, I got to see that Kaoru wears Batman pajamas," Jandra said, making Jasmine laugh. Kaoru was red.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Batman is cool."

"What about zoo animals?" Jasmine said, hitting Hikaru's arm. The girls were having a laughing fit.

"Well fine!" Hikaru yelled. "What pajamas do you guys wear? It's only fair that we know, since you barged in on us when we were sleeping."

"Yeah," Kaoru agreed. "What do you guys sleep in?"

"I wear sweat pants and a tank top," Jasmine said.

"What kind of sweat pants?" Kaoru asked. "You have to tell us the pattern." Jasmine paused.

"Plaid," she confessed. The boys laughed. "Hey, I like plaid. So sue me."

"Jandra?" Hikaru said. "Your turn." Jandra smirked.

"A t-shirt," she said. Her friends waited for the rest of her answer.

"I-is that all?" Kaoru asked, shocked.

"What of it?" Jandra asked.

"Like, not even underwear or anything?" Hikaru asked, just as shocked as Kaoru.

"Nope," Jandra said.

"Even when it's cold outside?" the boys chorused.

"I have a good heating system, believe it or not," she said.

There was silence for a moment.

"Wow," Jasmine said. "Now that our little confessional is over, how about we get out of the snow? We've gathered another couple inches on top of us just laying here. We'll be buried alive if we stay here much longer."

As they made their way back to the house, the wind really started to pick up and they could barely see. As they approached the doors, a maid came running out.

"Oh! Young masters," she said and bowed. "I've been instructed to make sure you all get back inside. A blizzard warning has just been designated over our area."

"A blizzard?" Jasmine said as they were rushed into the house.

They had to stay for dinner at the Hitachiin's home. The snow had stopped, but they couldn't even get the front doors open because of all the snow, so they had to wait for the staff at the mansion to clear a path to the road. They hadn't really planned on staying all day.

It actually turned out to be entertaining. The twins had lots of secret "lairs," as they called them, and they explored the large building for well over an hour.

"It's like The Secret Garden," Jasmine commented. "Except, we probably won't find a sickly little boy hidden here." The boys hadn't seen that movie and were highly confused.

"That sounds weird," Hikaru said.

"It's a good movie," Jandra said.

"We'll take your word for it," the boys said.

Once the girls were allowed to leave, they said their goodbyes for the day. They had to get working on their Christmas presents. Jandra had to be careful about her planning if she wanted to get two paintings done in one week and still keep them hidden.

She knew exactly what she wanted to paint.


	16. Chapter 16

Kaoru pounded on the door, hoping that Jasmine was awake. Spring break had started and he felt it was a good time to make a move in their get-Tamaki-and-Haruhi-married challenge. She opened the door.

"Kaoru?" she said, surprised. "Come in." He followed her to her kitchen. She'd just made herself breakfast. "You want something to eat?"

"No, thanks, I ate already," he said, taking a seat at the counter. "I think we should plan our next move." He explained while she ate, laying out all his ideas and options for her to consider.

"I like the idea of a romantic dinner the night before graduation," she said as she put her dishes away. "I also have an idea about how he should go about actually asking." She stood across from him, leaning her elbows on the counter.

They planned and plotted for the rest of the day and decided to simply slip ideas into Tamaki's head, possibly with a word or casual comment. They would move slowly and stealthily.

Kaoru wondered what would happen once they got Tamaki and Haruhi married. He truly hoped they would get to know each other even more and remain friends. But recently, it had seemed that Jandra was hanging out with him a lot as well. Jasmine had made hints towards Jandra possibly liking him, but he just couldn't be sure. Once Jasmine had put that little idea into his head, he'd been constantly trying to figure Jandra out. Either way, it didn't matter. He wanted to be with Jasmine, not Jandra. He just didn't want to break a heart.

Kaoru and Tamaki were out buying a present for Jasmine's birthday. Her birthday was the next day.

"You shouldn't have waited this long to get her something, boss," Kaoru said as they left yet another shop.

"Well, I didn't know it was her birthday until I heard the girls talking about it yesterday," Tamaki said. Kaoru spotted a chance to give Tamaki another hint towards Haruhi.

"Let's go here," he said, pointing to the store. "Girls love jewelry. Come on."

They browsed the jewelry store, looking at necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.

"Oh! Kaoru! This would be perfect, don't you think?" Tamaki asked excitedly, looking at the necklace. It had music note charms and decorative patterns.

"Don't get her that," Kaoru said, leaning against the counter.

"Why not?" Tamaki asked. "It's perfect."

"Because _I_ already got her that," Kaoru said. "You don't want to get her the same thing as me."

"Oh, you're probably right," Tamaki said, putting a finger to his mouth in thought as he scanned the nearby items.

"Hey, look at this," Kaoru said, moving to a case filled with rings. Tamaki approached slowly. Kaoru laughed at one. "Look at that one. It's hideous." He looked around to see if the salesman had heard him insult his products.

As always, Tamaki's thoughts strayed to Haruhi.

"That one's nice," Tamaki said, pointing to what happened to be the cheapest ring in the whole store. "Haruhi would like that…" He gave his head a little shake and moved on to the earrings. "We're not buying things for Haruhi. We're here to get Jasmine a present," he reminded himself.

Kaoru was grinning triumphantly to himself. Mission accomplished.

"Kaoru, look!" Tamaki whispered excitedly. "They match the necklace you got her perfectly." Indeed, they were part of a matching set. Tamaki wasted no time in purchasing the earrings.

Jasmine trudged slowly up the front walk.

_I just want to take a nap,_ she thought tiredly. The day had been stressful, to say the least. Big projects due and errands to run. And her friends hadn't said more than two words to her all day.

"Happy birthday to me," she mumbled as she put the key in the lock and opened the front door. She was so exhausted, she hardly responded to the shouts of "Surprise!" that greeted her. She looked up at all of her friends, who were frozen in their positions of excitement.

They were all wearing party hats. The main thing that caught her attention was the fact that Tamaki had three of those noise-maker things that you blow into in his mouth and was still blowing them with all of his might. She wondered how long it would take him to pass out.

Her mind eventually cleared enough for her to realize that her friends had planned the whole thing just for her. She gave a small smile.

"Thanks, you guys," she said and went to give each of them a hug. "I'm really tired today, so ignore my lack of enthusiasm." They all laughed together and moved the party into the living room. Honey had picked out the cake and wound up devouring the majority of it. Then she started opening presents.

Honey had gotten her a dress. A _pink_ dress. She smiled anyway and said thank you. Mori gave her a pair of shoes. They were very cute and simple. She thanked him, setting the shoes next to the dress. Kyoya got her a beautifully simple silver watch. Haruhi had gotten her a diary and pen. Jandra gave her a basket of rose-scented lotions and body washes. Hikaru got her a book of Shakespeare's greatest works. She smiled up at him warmly.

Kaoru handed her his present with excitement. He couldn't wait to see her reaction. She carefully lifted the lid off the box and gasped.

"Oh, Kaoru, it's beautiful," she said and gently lifted the necklace out for everyone to see. There were noises of approval.

"So pretty," Honey cooed. "It even has music notes."

"Thank you so much," she said and unclasped the chain. "Will you…?"

"Oh!" Kaoru rushed over to help her put it on. "How tight do you want it?"

"Just here," she said, holding the front to her collar bone. Kaoru's hands were shaking slightly. He hoped she didn't notice.

"There we go," he said and returned to his seat. Jasmine had long since fully woken up.

"Last, but certainly not least," she said, turning her gaze upon the man she loved. Tamaki smiled and handed his smaller box to her. She opened the box and gave a small chuckle. "You two are silly," she said. "Matching earrings." She held them up before putting them in.

"Well, Kaoru beat me to the necklace," Tamaki said. "And that design just screamed your name, I had to get it."

"It's very beautiful," she said. "Thank you all so much."

"Oh, this package was here when we got here," Haruhi said, bringing around a box.

"It's from my mom," Jasmine said, opening it. "She gets me the same thing every year." It was a golden watch. It was big and gaudy and she didn't even take it out of the box. Instead, she took aim and launched the entire package at the garbage can in the kitchen. It went straight in. "Three points!"

"Well, what did you do that for?" Tamaki asked. "That was a gift from your mother!"

"Tamaki, I haven't spoken to my mother in over a year," she said. "I email her once a month basically just to let her know I'm still alive. She knows I hate bulky jewelry, yet she always gets me a stupid, humongous gold watch. I would never wear it, and she knows that. She just thinks as long as she spends a little money on me, that constitutes affection. Besides, if I wore that watch, what would I do with Kyoya's present?" For emphasis, she took off her old beat up watch and slipped on Kyoya's.

"But that's just horrible for a mother and daughter to feel that way," Tamaki said.

"Tamaki," Jasmine said, putting in a tone of finality. "I'm fine with it and so is my mother. You don't have to fix every tiny problem in the world."

Tamaki was about to interject again, but Haruhi laid a hand on his arm, giving him a sad smile that said, "Just let it go."

So he did.


	17. Chapter 17

The end of the year was upon them again. Tamaki walked around moping half the time because he was graduating. Considering the fact that he'd still be at Ouran every day (his father worked there, after all) his actions were a little on the extreme side. He only cheered up when he went out with Haruhi. She made him forget the sadness of leaving Ouran. And he was determined to visit every day and see Haruhi. He really wanted to ask her a very important question. He just didn't know if it was the right time for her. He knew he was ready to take that step. He went to Jasmine's house a week before graduation.

"Oh, Tamaki, I think that's wonderful," she said when he told her his plan.

"I just don't know when to ask her," he said, pacing her living room. "I mean, what if she isn't ready and it scares her away?" Jasmine stood and pulled Tamaki into her arms, rubbing his back.

"Tamaki, she's been ready for this longer than you have," she said. "Don't be scared. I'm sure she'll say yes."

"Really?" Tamaki asked.

"Trust me," Jasmine said with a smile. "I know these things."

It was the night before graduation. All exams had been finished and the students were officially on summer vacation.

Tamaki escorted Haruhi into the restaurant and they followed the waitress to their table.

"You've been happier than usual," Haruhi commented. "I'm glad. Are you excited about tomorrow?"

"Not as excited as I am about tonight," he said.

"Why is that?" Haruhi asked with a small laugh.

"Because I'm here with you," he said, laying his hand over hers. She blushed slightly and nervously tucked her hair behind her ears. Honestly, she loved when he said romantic things like that because she knew he meant them.

Tamaki glanced toward the stage. Jasmine was in the wings, watching. She gave him an energetic thumbs up. He just had to wait until after dessert.

Tamaki watched as Haruhi finished her fancy dessert, his knees bouncing with excitement. Finally, she set down her fork.

"Haruhi," he began, reaching for her hand.

"Yes?" she asked, tilting her head a little in question.

"I love you so much," he said. "And I know you love me, even though you don't say it nearly as often as I do." She chuckled.

"I do love you, Tamaki," she said.

"I know," he said. "And I'm glad. Every time you say it, I get so excited and happy. Like I can fly on the clouds if I wanted to. Everything goes still and I can't hear or see anything or anyone but you. And I know exactly what I want to do with my life. No matter what job I wind up having, no matter what country I live in, I want to be with you. Forever."

He pulled a small velvet box from his pocket and laid in on the table in front of her.

"Open it whenever you're ready," he whispered and stood. He walked towards the stage and the grand piano that was on it. Jasmine was already up there with her guitar. She was wearing her best dress, and she really looked beautiful. She smiled proudly at him as he sat down and began to play. "This song," he said into the microphone. The people nearest the stage turned to look. "I wrote this song for my one and only love." He didn't look away from Haruhi, who had just opened the lid of the box to reveal a stunning, yet simple diamond ring. "Haruhi Fujioka, will you marry me?"

She turned her gaze to him as he began to sing.

"_Hello, my beautiful_

_It seems I just can't stay away_

_It's been so very long_

_That I've felt anything this strong_

_You hold my heart the way you did an hour ago_

_I've said all I can say, and yet I must be sure you know_

_That I love, love, love you_

_I need, need, need you_

_I long, long, long to hold you_

_In my arms again_

_I'm so, so sad to_

_Ever hurt, hurt, hurt you_

_I'm more afraid of losing you than anything before"_

Jasmine came in on her guitar like they'd rehearsed. She couldn't look at Tamaki anymore. Haruhi stood from the table and brought the box with her towards the piano slowly.

_I love, love, love you_

_I need, need, need you_

_I long, long, long to hold you_

_In my arms again_

_I'm so, so sad to_

_Ever hurt, hurt, hurt you_

_I'm more afraid of losing you than anything before_

_Please, can I have one more_

_Hello…"_

Tamaki finished the last chord and looked up when Haruhi placed the box on the piano in front of him. It was empty and she'd placed it with her left hand so he would see she'd put the ring on.

"It's about time you asked, you idiot," she said. The microphone caught it and there was a ripple of chuckles from the tables around them. Tamaki stood up, the biggest smile on his face, and pulled her into his arms.

No one noticed Jasmine run out the door.

Her heels click-clacked against the pavement as she ran home. She was supposed to meet Kaoru outside the restaurant, but she couldn't. She just couldn't.

It had hurt more than she thought it would. She stopped a moment to catch her breath and leaned against the wall of a building.

It started to rain.

She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent she loved. Almost as much as she loved Tamaki. And he was forever gone. Seeing him propose to Haruhi made it more than just an idea, and that's what made it hard. She was all right with the idea of him marrying Haruhi. But the real deal was like a knife to the heart. After a minute, she began walking again. Unfortunately for her, Kaoru had seen her leave the restaurant and had caught up to her.

"Jasmine!" he called. She ignored him and ran faster.

Finally, her heel caught on a rock and she fell. Kaoru ran faster to help her up. She just laid there, sobbing into the concrete.

"Jasmine! Are you okay?" Kaoru asked and pulled her up. Her hair was plastered to her makeup-smeared face and she kept her eyes on the ground. "Jasmine, what's wrong. Come on, talk to me. Did you hit your head? Are you in pain?"

"Pain," she said through her sobs.

"Where does it hurt?" Kaoru asked, starting to worry. Jasmine only cried louder and clutched at his shirt. "Jasmine?" he whispered into her ear. He didn't understand. Her fall hadn't been that bad. Maybe she'd broken her ankle or something. "You have to let me know where it hurts so I can try to help."

"It hurts," she cried. "It's like there's a hole ripping through my heart. Why does it hurt so much? Why does it hurt, Kaoru? Why does it hurt?" She kept crying into his shirt.

Her heart? What had happened?

"I don't understand," he said to himself more than anyone else. He held her closer to him. It was then that he noticed that, if it hadn't been for the rain and the mud soaking her, she looked very beautiful in that dress. "You look beautiful, by the way."

She tried to laugh. It sounded like a moan.

"Don't lie," she said. "I'm drenched and now I'm muddy. I look hideous."

"No, you don't," Kaoru said. "What's wrong?" he whispered.

She was silent for a moment, her sobs having left her momentarily numb.

"The man I love just got engaged to the perfect woman," she said. She quickly shoved herself off of Kaoru and ran, haphazardly grabbing her guitar as she went.

Kaoru sat rooted to the ground.

"The man I love…"

"…I love…"

"…love…"

She loved Tamaki this whole time? He stood, brushed the mud from his soaked pants, and turned toward home.

Jasmine approached her house and saw a figure leaning against the door. Hikaru stood straight. The look in her eyes told him all he needed to know. It was done.

He stooped to pick up the crate that was beside him.

"Come on," he said, holding out his hand. She read the label on the crate: Overproof Rum. "Let's get wasted."


	18. Chapter 18

Jasmine first slipped back into consciousness because the sun was shining through the window right into her face. She didn't move, though. She was awfully warm and cozy and didn't want to get up any time soon. After a moment, she realized that the bed was moving, but it was a steady, slow rhythm. Up and down, up and down… almost like it was breathing.

_That's odd,_ she thought. The mattress moved differently and the sheet that had been on top of her fell to the floor. The sudden rush of cold air hitting her skin made her open her eyes a crack to find the covers again. She froze when she saw what she was laying on.

She quickly closed her eyes again, pretending to be asleep, even though her heart was racing and her breathing was rushed. Why was Hikaru here and why was she laying on top of him _on her bed?_ And why the hell were they both naked? She racked her brain for some memory of what had happened last night.

She remembered that he had brought over a crate of rum… and that it tasted good. They played cards for a long while, she felt. What did they play?... War…. That got boring…. Then…

"Oh god," she whispered. "Strip poker."

Hikaru stirred a little and blinked his eyes.

"Hm?" he mumbled, squinting his eyes against the light. "Ngh," he whined. "'S goin' on?"

Jasmine carefully lifted herself off of him, scooting to the side. She took a look around them and groaned.

"I'm going to have to clean," she said. "We made a mess." She looked down at her lap. "A really big mess."

Hikaru grumbled and turned over, burying his face in her pillow.

"Are you listening to me?" she said, starting to panic. She grabbed a T-shirt from a drawer and threw it over her head as she made her way out into the hallway. "Oh my god. This place is a wreck. What on earth did we do? Okay, don't answer that." She followed the mess into the kitchen and, for some reason, her eyes were drawn to the thermostat on the wall.

Slightly confused, she went back to the bedroom to wake Hikaru up.

"Hikaru," she hissed. "Hikaru, wake up!" She grabbed the pillow he wasn't sleeping on and smacked him in the head with it.

"Nnnn hangover," he mumbled. "Go 'way."

Jasmine sighed. She closed the curtains to darken the room so maybe he'd sit up.

"Hikaru Hitachiin, do you have any idea how much trouble we are in?" she said, scooting close to him on the bed.

"Nn-nn," he mumbled. "What'd you do?" She sighed.

"I guess the only way to wake you up to the situation is to be brutally blunt," she said. "We had sex all over my house!" She quirked her ear when she heard her ringtone in the other room. She ran to get it. "Hello?"

"Jasmine? Have you seen Hikaru? He didn't come home last night. I'm so worried-"

"Uh, yeah, Kaoru, I have," she said, rubbing her eyes. "Don't worry. He's all right. We both kind of had a rough night with what happened, but we're fine." She heard Kaoru give a relieved sigh.

"Thank you," he said.

"Don't mention it," she said, heading back into the bedroom where Hikaru was sitting up on the bed. He was fully awake, even though he was visibly in pain. He did have more than two bottles of rum. She didn't doubt his head was killing him.

"He's going to come and get ready for graduation soon, right?" Kaoru asked.

"Yeah, I'll make sure he's there in time," she said. "Don't worry about it. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye," Kaoru said and hung up. Jasmine snapped her phone shut and let out a long breath.

"Oh my god," she breathed and plopped down next to Hikaru on the bed. He'd covered himself with the sheet. Hikaru looked at her for a moment.

"So we—?"

"Yeah."

"You remember?"

"No. But it's not that hard to figure out."

Hikaru swallowed hard, his heart beating out of control. He'd lost his virginity and couldn't even remember it. And Jasmine was probably in the same situation. And then he was sure they hadn't used protection. He could hardly think straight when he was drunk and it's not like she had condoms lying around the place. And she'd said they'd done it all over the house, so that meant there was a good possibility she could be…

"Are you sure we actually did it?" he asked. "We didn't just fool around and stuff? We actually…" He was desperately trying to deny the fact that he could become a father when he's still a teenager.

"There was penetration, if that's what you're asking," she said. "I'm one hundred percent certain about that." She pulled up the hem of the shirt she was wearing. Her thighs were smeared with blood and what he could only assume was his semen. He fell back on the bed and put his hands over his face.

"Oh god," he sighed. "What are we going to do if…"

"If I get pregnant?" she asked. He peeked at her through his fingers to watch her think. "There's always adoption. And it's not like I don't have the money to raise a child on my own. It would be taken care of, either way."

"You're not even going to consider—"

"No," she said firmly. "And I'm ashamed of you for even thinking about it." Hikaru sat up and looked her in the eye.

"I don't like the idea of an abortion any more than you do, but if you decided to get one, I wouldn't be able to stop you." He paused. "That's all I meant." She looked at her knees.

"I just never thought I'd wind up having sex with anyone but the man I marry," she said and sniffed, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. Hikaru put a hand behind her head and pulled her close to him.

"Is that what you want?" he whispered. He kept talking before she could answer. "Because I don't want you to take all responsibility if we do have a kid. I mean, half the genes would be mine, right? I'd feel like a jackass if I made you take care of a Hitachiin brat on your own." Jasmine chuckled.

"Let's wait until we're sure if I'm even going to have a baby," she said. It sounded different when she said "baby". Almost like a really good thing. A baby….

"Yes, Hikaru, a baby," she said. "Wipe that silly grin off your face. What are you: twelve years old?" He'd been thinking out loud.

"Sorry, I was just…" He didn't elaborate. He took a good look around the room for the first time. "Wow. You want some help cleaning up?"

"You'd _better_ stick around and help. It's all your bodily fluids, after all," she said. "But I think we need to clean ourselves up first, and we've got to do it fast if we want to make it to graduation on time."

"Oh, graduation!" Hikaru said, slapping his forehead. "Ow. And I need to get rid of my hangover."

"You can go make some coffee while I take my shower," she said, walking towards the bathroom. "I'll leave the shower running for you, okay?"

"Okay," he said, heading for the kitchen. He heard the water start running through the pipes. He saw their clothes strewn about the floor. He decided to help a little and picked them up, putting her clothes in a hamper of dirty clothes and piling his by the bathroom door for after his shower.

After two minutes of trying to even find the coffee, he gave up and sat on the bed, waiting for his turn. If he closed his eyes and concentrated, he could smell the musky scent of sweat and something else that could only be defined as sex. He let his mind wander and it was almost like he was remembering.

…

_Jasmine wound up on top of the counter, sending all fifty-two cards flying to the floor, along with the majority of their clothes and jewelry._

…

_The pressure of her fingers in his hair was like she was egging him on, begging him not to stop._

…

"_Mmm," he moaned, leaning his forehead on hers and closing his eyes._

…

"_Hika… Nnnnn…" Jasmine moaned, not even finishing his name._

…

_Hikaru watched her as her breathing slowed down to normal. She was asleep…_

…

"Hey, don't fall back asleep on me now," Jasmine said, coming out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her. Hikaru sat up. "Oh and guess what."

"Hm?"

"You thought the blood was bad?" She turned around and let her towel slide down so he could see her back. There were two long bruises; one in the middle of her back, the other lower. They both went straight across from left to right and were already a dark purple.

"What do you think those are from?" he asked.

"I think one of them is the piano," she said, fixing her towel again. "The music was all over the place, plus there's semen on the bench. I don't know what the other one is from."

"Kitchen counter," he said, remembering his flashback. "It would be higher up on your back than the piano. I remember it, so it must have been pretty early on in our… activities."

"Oh," she said, blushing lightly. "The shower's running for you." She busied herself with finding clothes, trying not to watch him as he walked to the bathroom naked. She quickly grabbed her clothes for graduation and changed.

She started cleaning while Hikaru was in the shower, stacking up the music from the floor and picking up the cards. She grabbed the sheet from the bed and brought it to the laundry room. She went back and grabbed the pillow cases for good measure. She poured more than enough detergent in the washer before starting it.

She was working on wiping off the piano bench when Hikaru walked in, fully clothed, his hair still wet.

"I'll get it," he offered and took the wash cloth she'd been using from her hands.

"You need to go home and get ready for graduation," she said, taking the cloth back from him. "I'm already dressed. You're not. Kaoru's worried about you."

"You didn't tell him, did you?" he asked.

"No," she said, wiping up the last of the mess on the bench. "He's not _my_ brother." She tossed it in the hamper. "It's your responsibility to tell him when you're ready." She turned him toward the door and lightly pushed him outside and handed him his shoes. "I'll see you at graduation." She closed the door.

Hikaru stood there, not really wanting to leave. They still had a lot to talk about. And he was so confused. He slipped on his shoes and hit a speed dial button on his phone. A car met him at the corner of the street.

Jasmine was leaning against the door she'd just closed, tears threatening to fall. She didn't know why she was crying. She didn't know. Maybe that was why she was crying, because she felt so confused and didn't know what she was going to do. She knew it was very likely that she could be pregnant. Was she really ready to handle that?

Would she be able to hide it from her mother?

What would Tamaki think of her now?

Would she want to raise a child in Japan or go back to America?

She gave her head a violent shake and went to put new sheets on her bed.


	19. Chapter 19

Graduation went by smoothly, and the gang all went to Kyoya's house for an after party. Kaoru's head was swimming. All this time and he'd never known Jasmine loved Tamaki. He felt like such an idiot. He should have seen it. And he'd gotten his own hopes up, thinking he could be with her. He isolated himself by the punch bowl that everyone was avoiding because he and Hikaru had put too much alcohol in it. He was the only one who had even had some.

He was surprised Hikaru wasn't drinking any, but from the looks of it he had a major hangover. Jandra came up beside him.

"Hey," she said, hesitantly picking up a cup of punch and sniffing it. She set it back down on the table.

"Yo," Kaoru said and took another drink.

"Kaoru, do you see a change in anyone?" she asked, not wanting to be specific.

"Well, Tamaki and Haruhi seem to be happier than usual, but that's because they just got engaged," he said.

"I was thinking Hikaru and Jasmine, in particular," Jandra said. "I don't know what, but something's off."

Kaoru scoffed quietly. He knew what was off. Hikaru loved Haruhi and Jasmine loved Tamaki; both of their loves just got engaged to each other. The two were probably on the verge of depression, if not in it already.

"It's not hard to figure out why," he said in a low voice, staring intently at Jasmine, slightly angry with her for not telling him sooner. Hikaru had obviously known. Would he have to turn over his feelings for a girl for his brother's sake again? He'd done that with Haruhi already, to teach him a little lesson. But now he was beginning to think he'd have to do it all the time and eventually he'd have to settle for the next best.

Because Jasmine really was the best. At least in his eyes. And apparently Hikaru's too. He hadn't left her side all day, yet he never said a word to her. He didn't even touch her at all. He was just hovering over her like a shadow.

Kaoru took another drink. Jandra was confused, trying to figure out why the two in question would be acting so strangely. Jandra had noticed Hikaru following Jasmine as well, and she didn't like it either. But that wasn't the change she had been referring to.

It was mainly Jasmine. There was something about her that was different. The only real physical change was that she kept touching her stomach lightly and looked slightly apprehensive. But it would only last for a second and then it would be gone.

The next time Jasmine did it, Jandra pointed it out to Kaoru.

It was like a bomb exploded in Kaoru's head.

He knew what had happened. He'd noticed Hikaru was drunk, which meant he'd been drinking at Jasmine's place and he'd had a lot to give him a hangover. Jasmine had most likely been drunk as well. And he knew full well that Hikaru got horny when he was drunk. Jasmine said they'd had a rough night. And now he was hanging around her and she was concerned….

"They had sex," he whispered to himself.

"What was that?" Jandra asked, not hearing him.

"Nothing," he said and grabbed another cup of punch. "We should have just brought out straight alcohol." Jandra sighed and grabbed her own cup.

"Love sucks," she mumbled. Kaoru turned to her.

Oh that was right… Jandra liked him…

He really shouldn't have completely thrown her aside like he had. If she liked him, he should give her as much a chance as anyone.

He set his drink on the table, took her hand and led her outside to the garden. They both took a deep breath as the spring breeze rustled through their hair. Kaoru stopped them in front of a rather elaborate fountain.

Before she could say anything, he swooped down and kissed her. He let his lips linger for a second or two before pulling back. Jandra's eyes were wide.

"What was that for?" she asked, bringing a hand up to touch her lips lightly.

"I dunno," Kaoru said and smiled ruefully. "I really don't know." He dropped his eyes to the ground. "I don't know anything right now."

"Kaoru, what's going on?" Jandra asked, taking one of his hands in hers. "I hate not knowing what the heck is going on!" Kaoru sighed and shook his head.

"Everyone's just in love with the wrong person," he said and walked away, leaving Jandra standing in the garden.

A couple weeks passed and Tamaki and Haruhi had set a date for the wedding. It would be in early fall, right when the leaves were starting to change. Jasmine and Jandra were eager to help Haruhi with the planning. They didn't have much time, after all. The church was booked and the reception hall paid for.

Tamaki came rushing into the twins' room in a state of near panic.

"Hikaru! Kaoru! I need help!" he shouted. Hikaru got up and left the room. Kaoru followed him with his eyes. His twin hadn't so much as spoken to him since graduation and he was really worried. He always found some way to get away from him. Kaoru sighed.

"What's the problem, boss?" he asked.

"Haruhi and I are writing our own vows and I have no idea what to write!" Tamaki shouted. He was really panicking.

"Okay, first step is to calm down," Kaoru said and shoved Tamaki onto the bed next to him. "What have you got so far?"

"Absolutely nothing."

Kaoru sighed and fell backwards on the bed.

"We've got a lot of work to do."

Kaoru was surprised when Jasmine wanted to see him. She hadn't talked to him since graduation either. Finally, a change for the better. At least he hoped it was for the better. He saw Jasmine sitting in her kitchen, laptop open, music playing. She paused it when he came in and she smiled at him.

"Hey," she said. "Take a seat."

"What did you want to talk about?" he asked.

"How well can you dance?"

"What?" he deadpanned.

"I've been helping Haruhi plan the wedding, and I think this would be a good present for her and Tamaki," she said and turned the computer towards him. He watched a dance being performed. The song was in English and the title of the song and dance was from the repeated line: "I'll find a way to you if it kills me." The two that danced in the video were very good and passionate. And he doubted he would be able to do half the things that man did.

"I don't think I can do that," Kaoru said with a chuckle.

"I'll teach you," Jasmine said. "We have a couple months to learn it and no school work to get in the way. I took enough dance to be able to get us ready to perform in that amount of time. Please, Kaoru?"

"Why didn't you ask Hikaru?" Kaoru said, slightly angry. Jasmine looked at the counter.

"Hikaru… is waiting for a piece of information from me and I don't have it yet," she said. "I don't want to look like I'm stalling or anythi—"

"What information?" Kaoru asked. She looked at him.

"You know, don't you?" she whispered. "What we did?"

"I think I've pretty much figured it out," he said. "He wants to know if you're pregnant, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," she said. "I should know within the next few days. Honestly, I could probably find it out now, but I'm too scared to try. I mean, it's been long enough…" She sighed. "I bought a test and everything. Just can't bring myself to open it."

Kaoru put a hand on hers and squeezed it tightly.

"It's okay," he said. "You should take it. Find out."

"What will you do if it's positive?" she asked. "I'd be carrying your niece or nephew." Kaoru thought about it for a moment. He hadn't thought about how it would affect him.

"I'd be an uncle," he whispered and chuckled. "It would affect Hikaru a lot more, though. He'd be a father. I don't know if he's ready to be a father."

"Is any man truly ready to be a father until he becomes one?" Jasmine asked. "At least my child would have a father. That's more than I can say for myself."

"Either way, your baby would be cared for and loved by many people," Kaoru said. "Come on. I'll stay here with you while you wait. Go take the test." He pushed her towards the bathroom and then waited for her to come back out. After a minute, she returned, carrying a box and a little white stick.

"Three minute wait," she said and started the timer on the microwave. They watched every second go by. When the microwave beeped, Jasmine snatched the test. Kaoru watched as she tensed, then slowly relaxed. She breathed a sigh and threw it and the box away.

"What was it?" he asked.

"It was negative," she said. "Which means there's still a chance it's too early for a test to know. The only way they can be wrong this early on is if they're negative."

"Or you could really not be pregnant," Kaoru suggested.

"I don't know," Jasmine said. "I feel like… I don't know what I feel like, but for some reason, I really think I am. But I can't just tell Hikaru based on a gut feeling, you know?"

"Well, like you said, you'll know for sure in a few days," Kaoru said. "If you are pregnant, are you sure you want to do a dance like that one?" He nodded to the computer. "There were a lot of lifts."

"I'd only be three months or so along," she said. "It'll be fine. And it sounds like you just agreed to dance with me."

She smiled at him over the countertop. He smiled back.

"Yes, but we'll have to start some other day," he said and stood up. "The prince is in crisis. He can't find the words for his vows." Jasmine laughed.

"He'll get them," she said and followed Kaoru to the door. "So do you want to meet every day at ten? We need as much practice as we can get for this thing." Kaoru saluted as he walked down the porch.

"Aye aye, Captain."

Normally, he would have called a family car to come and get him, but he wanted some time to think alone. For some reason, he wasn't as upset as he thought he would be when Jasmine told him she was nearly positive she was carrying his brother's child. Maybe love clouds a person's judgment on these matters.

Either way, he still loved her, and he would love the baby if it was born.

"Now to deal with a fully-grown baby who can't write his own vows," he said to himself as he went to meet with Tamaki again.

Jasmine paced back and forth in front of her kitchen counter. There was no denying it now. She'd completely missed her period and she'd been sick to her stomach for the past couple days. She looked at the clock.

_Ten seconds,_ she thought. She ran out of the room and sat on her front porch. She couldn't even look at the thing. She called Hikaru.

"Can you come over?" she asked. Hikaru seemed to know what was going on and rushed over immediately. The car dropped him off and he rushed up.

"Did you take it?" he asked.

"I can't look at it," she said. "I'm scared even though I know what it says. I want you to see it before I do." He let her lead him to the kitchen. She pointed to it and he went to pick it up. "A plus sign is positive. Minus sign is negative."

Hikaru stared at the little plus sign for a minute. He felt his gut clench and his heart sped up. He set the test back on the counter and turned to look at Jasmine. He pulled her into his arms and just held her.

"Hikaru…" she whispered, rubbing circles on his back. Hikaru was suddenly overcome with emotion. He sobbed, but he wasn't sad exactly. "Shh…" Jasmine tried to calm him down. She scratched his back lightly with one hand and played with the hair at the base of his neck with the other. He was squeezing her tightly and her whole body shook with his sobs.

After a few minutes, he calmed down and they both went back outside to sit on the porch. Hikaru wiped at his eyes and sniffed a few times.

"So it's official," she said. "You want a boy or girl?"

"I don't know," he said. "Whatever it is is fine with me. When do you recon the due date will be?"

"Some time in late February," she said. "I talked with Tamaki's father yesterday. It was rough, but I managed to get him to let me still attend Ouran. The fact that Tamaki was in the room helped a great deal."

"Tamaki knew you were pregnant before I did?" Hikaru asked, slightly hurt. It was his child after all.

"He knew I was fairly certain," she said. "It had to be done. It was the only opening Mr. Suoh had in his schedule. Honestly, I wasn't half as scared of Mr. Suoh as I was of Tamaki's reaction."

"What did he do?" Hikaru asked.

"He was shocked, to say the least," she said. "But then he got excited about me having a baby and asked who the father was. I told him I wanted it to be confidential. I guess we'll just have a baby shower and announce to everyone then." She heaved a great sigh.

"I need to tell my mom."


	20. Chapter 20

Link to the dance later in the story: .com/watch?v=6XCIy2Zkkz8

Please watch it! It's really good!

Chapter 20

"Going away?" Kaoru asked.

"Just for a day," Jasmine said. "I need to tell my mom in person that she's going to be a grandmother earlier than planned. You get out of dance practice tomorrow."

The flight was long and Jasmine slept through most of it. She found her mother in the airport, talking on her cell phone as always. She made an effort to not slip into Japanese when here.

She waited until her mother was finished talking.

"All right, I'll have to call you back in a bit," her mother said and hung up. "So, Jasmine, what's with the unexpected visit? Where are your bags?"

"I didn't bring any luggage," Jasmine said. "I'm on the next flight out. It leaves in ten minutes."

"What on earth did you even come for, child?" her mother nearly yelled.

"I have a message to deliver," she said. "I'm pregnant." Her mother froze.

"I knew sending you to Japan was a bad idea," she began to rant.

"Mom," Jasmine said, but her mother didn't hear her.

"I know a few clinics in the area where you can get it hastily and discreetly taken care of."

"Mom!" Jasmine was fuming. "I am keeping this baby, and I am going back to Japan. You can't take me away from my family, no matter how dysfunctional!"

"I am your family and I am your mother and you will do as I say—"

"No, mom," Jasmine said, letting a tear slide down her cheek. She'd needed to have this conversation for a long time. "All you've ever been to me is a manager and a chaperone. And I think it's all you ever will be. The decision now is for you to make because I've already made mine. My place is in Japan with the people I love. With my family. You didn't even know that I have sisters now, and brothers. And I've even fallen in love and had my heart broken. And I think I'm going to be okay."

"Flight 525 to Japan is boarding now," came a voice over the loudspeakers.

"My friends' wedding is in September," she said. "You're invited. You might want to see what I'm talking about."

And she left her mother standing in the middle of the airport. And the woman hadn't even noticed that her phone had been ringing on and off for two minutes.

Jasmine knew she hadn't seen the last of her mother and hoped this baby could help fix their broken relationship.

"Come on, boss, you gotta think!" Kaoru nearly whined. It was a week before the wedding and Tamaki still had nothing for his vows. Jasmine had informed him that Haruhi had hers completed months ago.

Tamaki was going insane, quite literally. He'd stopped moving at all, and was currently falling asleep on his couch in his music office. Kaoru sighed and sat on the piano bench. They were getting nowhere. Tamaki began to mumble.

"_Je n'ai pas de mots…. Je n'ai pas de mots…."_ Over and over. _Je n'ai pas de mots._

_Je n'ai pas de mots._

As soon as Tamaki woke up, Kaoru asked him what he was saying.

"What was I saying? I said something? What?" Tamaki mumbled. "Was I sleep-talking?"

"Yeah, you said _je n'ai pas de mots_ over and over again," Kaoru said. He'd gotten good at saying it himself because Tamaki'd been asleep for quite a while.

"That was some pretty good French, but that just means 'I don't have words'," Tamaki said. "I'm just so stressed about not having my vows done. I don't have the words…."

"It had a ring to it though," Kaoru mumbled. "_Je n'ai pas de mots." _He tried to stress different words and hear the sound. Tamaki sat up slowly, staring out the open window.

"Kaoru…" he said. "You're a genius."

"Hm?"

Tamaki quickly shoved Kaoru over on the bench and fiddled on the piano for a second. He played an arpeggio and then began adding chords. Tamaki was tickled with joy.

"Kaoru, I've got it! I'll sing my vows to her!"

"You're going to have the weirdest wedding ever."

Kaoru found himself surprisingly busy this summer. Tamaki had used up his evenings with trying to write his vows (which, the song was coming along quite nicely) and he spent all of his mornings at Jasmine's house, working on the dance.

He was surprised that he was doing as well as he was. The moves were hard at first, but once he got it down, it was easy to keep doing it. He really felt that he was connecting more with Jasmine. They talked about a lot during practices.

Jasmine had set up appointments with a doctor at one of Kyoya's family's hospitals. She told Kaoru that her first sonogram was scheduled for a week after the wedding. It was exciting, really, to think he'd be an uncle soon.

One day, after their practice, they were both exhausted and collapsed onto the couch in the air conditioned living room. Neither of them had enough energy to even keep their eyes open. They must have fallen into a deep sleep because they didn't wake up until dinner time.

Kaoru woke first. He blushed slightly when he noticed they'd shifted in their sleep. Jasmine was snuggled up next to him with her nose buried in his chest and her arm around his waist. He was surprised to see that his fingers had been laced through her hair.

He gave her hair a few more gentle strokes before sliding out from under her and leaving. He didn't want this memory of her sleeping to be interrupted. He smiled on his way home.

The day finally arrived. The church was elaborate, yet small. The families of the host club members were all crammed onto the groom's side of the church. Éclair and Tamaki's mother were even there, thanks to some ropes pulled by Tamaki's grandmother, who actually turned out to be kind of cool, once Haruhi had knocked some sense into her. Misuzu Sonoda was there too, on the bride's side of the church. Jasmine's mother had come in an attempt to better understand her daughter's life. Jandra's father had flown in from Ireland. In short, the bride's side of the church was practically empty compared to the groom's.

Everything went smoothly. Ranka gave his daughter away without even giving Tamaki a death glare. The vows came and Haruhi said hers first, giving an eloquent speech that Jandra could take pride in saying she helped write. Then things kind of took a turn for the wacky.

Tamaki turned to the crowd.

"Everyone, my vows are kind of unconventional," Tamaki said. He moved over to the grand piano on the side of the stage. "I know not all of you speak English, so my good friend, Kaoru Hitachiin, made a translation slide of both Japanese and French to put up on the screen in the back. There's uh, actually a funny story behind this. I had… no idea what I was going to do for my vows. I was literally freaking out about it for three months and then last week, a French phrase stuck out to me and made me realize…" He locked eyes with Haruhi.

"It's not about the words."

And he began to play.

The piano was beautiful and then he began to sing.

"_Come near and stand by me, baby_

_Close enough to reach out and pull you still closer_

_All that is swelling within me_

_Must be a language I've never spoken 'til there was you_

"_I fumble_

_Try, but I stumble_

_Over all my heart wants to say now_

"_Je n'ai pas de mots_

_Nothing seems to say the way you move me_

_Rushing through me_

_Je n'ai pas de mots_

_But a promise has been made, you can believe this_

_From the first kiss_

_It's good that I don't have to speak to know that it's real_

_Je n'ai pas de mots_

"_Come near and talk to me, baby_

_How did you know you were the dream of this dreamer?_

_Oh, God, how I thank you for reading_

_In my heart the note I didn't even know that I wrote_

"_Of what I long for_

_You gave me much more_

_Love is standing beside me_

"_Je n'ai pas de mots_

_Nothing seems to say the way you move me_

_Rushing through me_

_Je n'ai pas de mots_

_But a promise has been made, you can believe this_

_From the first kiss"_

He took it up into a key change that was so moving, Haruhi gasped.

"_Je n'ai pas de mots_

_Oh, nothing seems to say the way you move me_

_Rushing through me_

_Je n'ai pas de mots_

_But a promise has been made, you can believe this_

_From the first kiss_

_It's good that I don't have to speak to know that it's real_

"_Je n'ai pas de mots_

_Je n'ai pas de mots_

_Je n'ai pas… de mots"_

He played the last chord and there was applause. He quickly returned to his position at the altar.

"How was it? Did you like it?" he whispered excitedly to Haruhi.

"Loved it," she said. "I wouldn't expect anything less perfect from you."

And the ceremony continued uninterrupted.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Tamaki gave her a tender kiss, cradling her face gently.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," Haruhi responded.

It took a while for everyone to get to the reception hall. Jasmine ran straight for a restroom to change into her dress for her dance. She was so proud of Kaoru for picking up such difficult steps so quickly.

They waited until the bridal party was seated at a long table and all the toasts had been made. Jasmine went up by the DJ.

"Haruhi," she said. "Tamaki… This is our present to you. We hope you feel it represents your love as much as we do." She went to take her place with Kaoru. Jandra rushed up to the microphone and added in a slightly comical manner:

"All rights go to Jason Mraz and Travis Wall." And she returned to her seat. There was a ripple of chuckles throughout the room.

The lights dimmed and people gathered around the edge of the dance floor. She heard the song begin and felt Kaoru moving behind her. He held out the heart pendant that was their prop and let it drop.

She twisted out from under his arm and turned away from him. Jason Mraz's voice blared through the speakers, giving her chills.

"_If I should be so bold"_

Kaoru touched her shoulder and she spun to face him.

"_I'd ask you to hold my heart in your hand"_

Kaoru held out the pendant and dropped it in her hand.

"_Tell you from the start how I long to be your man"_

Jasmine spun around and Kaoru placed his hands on her thigh to hold her while she leant forward and extended her foot straight up into the air and held out the pendant. Then she clutched the pendant to her chest and bent her leg as she righted herself and Kaoru let her go. She held her hand out to the side and dropped the pendant to the floor as Kaoru did a few moves close to the ground and picked it up.

"_But I never said a word_

_I guess I've gone and missed my chance again"_

Jasmine took a few running steps away and did an arabesque. Kaoru grabbed her raised arm and pulled her back to him, lifting her and placing her down on the ground. He slid up next to her on the floor. She flung her arm back and Kaoru threw his head back so it looked like she hit him. She leant over him and he dangled the pendant around her head before she stood back up.

"_And all I want to do is love you"_

They both righted themselves and did some synchronized moves.

"_A kind much closer than friends use"_

Jasmine spun and leapt into Kaoru's arms before he set her back down.

"_But I still can't say it after all we've been through"_

She took the pendant from him and he dropped to the ground, letting her swing her leg over his shoulders. He stood, bringing her soaring into the air.

She felt like she was flying as she extended her hand and let the pendant dangle in front of Kaoru's face behind her. She did a roll backwards and he flipped her off of his shoulders.

"_And all I really want from you is to feel me"_

She let the momentum take her down backwards as she bent at the knees, letting Kaoru catch her behind her neck.

"_As the feeling inside keeps building"_

Her shoulder settled on his calf and she ran her hand up his side to his chest as he took the pendant from her fingers and kind of kicked her back up to her feet.

"_And I will find a way to you if it kills me_

_If it kills me_

_If it kills me"_

She spun, looked at the pendant in his hand and grabbed his hand, running at him, trying to shove him away from her.

She leapt into a spin and he caught her midair. He set her back down on the floor where she dropped and he leapt over her and did his own spin at the other end of the dance floor. They locked eyes and she began to run towards him.

"_I think it might kill me"_

He tossed her the pendant and she caught it right as they reached each other. They stood face to face and began ripping at each other's outfits in frustration. They stopped and she clenched the pendant's chain between her teeth. Kaoru's hands were on her hips as he trailed his own lips over the end of the chain up close to where she was biting it.

"_And all I really want from you is to feel me_

_As the feeling inside keeps building"_

She hopped up and he held her as she leaned back and he practically kissed her stomach. He flung her away from him and she went flying backwards through the air.

"_And I will find a way to you if it kills me_

_If it kills me_

_It might kill me"_

Jasmine rushed up on Kaoru and hooked the chain of the pendant behind his neck. She reached her leg around his and pretended to kick his knees out from under him, making him kneel. She hung the pendant around her neck and twisted around and let herself fall into Kaoru's arms. He laid her on the floor and lowered himself over top of her. She grabbed him by his hips and made him close the distance. Thy sat up and he turned around so she was behind him.

She snaked her arm above his shoulder and turned his face to hers.

She kissed him.

Kaoru's eyes closed and he brought a hand up to place behind her head, returning the kiss eagerly. They hadn't planned on doing the kiss at the end, but he was glad that she'd done it instead of him.

Neither of them had noticed the music had stopped until applause and wolf whistles erupted around them. Jasmine blushed and took Kaoru's hand as he helped her up. She gave him a bear hug before turning and giving little bows to everyone as thanks.

They made their way off the dance floor as the DJ started the real music for the guests. Haruhi came up to them and hugged them both.

"Thank you guys so much, that was beautiful," she said. "All those lifts! It looked like you were flying," she told Jasmine.

"It kind of felt like it too," Jasmine said, resting a hand against her stomach gently. "It was good timing on the wedding on your part though. Any later and I might not have felt comfortable enough to do it in such revealing clothes." Haruhi chuckled.

"Well you were beautiful out there," she said. "Have fun, you two." She winked at Jasmine out of Kaoru's sight and returned to her place next to Tamaki. Jasmine and Kaoru wandered into a side room, their breathing still elevated.

Jasmine hugged him again, clutching his hair lightly.

"Thank you," she whispered. He pushed her away a little so he could look into her eyes.

"Jasmine, I…" he began, not really knowing what he wanted to say to her.

"What is it, Kaoru?" Jasmine asked, smiling warmly.

"I—"

"She's throwing the bouquet! Come on!" Jandra rushed up and grabbed Jasmine's wrist, dragging her away from Kaoru into the main room to join the other unmarried ladies.

Haruhi smiled over her shoulder at Jasmine and then let her bouquet fly far to the back of the group. Jasmine fingered the petals of the flowers that had just dropped into her hands. She didn't hear the congratulations or the disappointed complaints of the younger girls. She wandered back to the room where she'd left Kaoru standing in the doorway.

"Sorry, I—"

"It's okay," he said with a smile. "Congratulations. You'll be the next of the women in attendance to be married." She laughed.

"Then I feel sorry for all the other girls because they'll most likely have to wait," she said. "I'm kind of undesirable: a teenage mother-to-be. And I'm not even out of high school yet."

"You're not undesirable," Kaoru said and stepped closer to her. "And you might not have to wait as long as you think. I know at least one man who would like to marry you in the future." Jasmine swallowed the lump in her throat.

"You?" she asked.

"Maybe," he said with a smirk and began to lean down, inching their lips closer and closer. "If you'll have me."

Jasmine let her eyes close as he kissed her. She didn't really know when or how, but she really had fallen in love with Kaoru. They pulled apart for air, leaning their foreheads against the other's.

"I know at least one girl who would like to take you up on that offer," she said with a smile.

"You?" he teased.

"No maybes about it," she whispered, her smile lighting up her whole face. "I love you."

He kissed her again, then said "I love you too."


	21. Chapter 21 FINAL

Kaoru watched as Jasmine walked around the kitchen. She was almost seven months pregnant, and currently at the point where some of the things she chose to eat could be called monstrosities. At the moment, she was scooping up chocolate pudding with a dill pickle. Sometimes, it made _him_ nauseous to watch her.

Jasmine's doctor had suggested she not live alone in her last trimester, so she moved into one of the spare rooms in the Hitachiin manor. It seemed the most logical place, considering both her baby's father _and_ her fiancée lived there.

Their refrigerator was plastered with sonograms revealing not one baby, but two. Hikaru could have sworn there was a curse on the Hitachiins to forever have twins. This also meant that Kaoru was obsessing over Jasmine's health and the care of the babies. He knew the risks for such a young mother to lose the baby was high, especially with twins. The doctor had reassured him that Jasmine was doing fine, and gave him a copy of the nutritional list she had given Jasmine to follow.

Jasmine raised the pickle jar and examined the juice.

"No more pickles," she said and leaned heavily against the counter. The twins sat on either side of the island and watched her. "I'm not really hungry anymore anyways. I'm just so upset that I can't play half my instruments like this. I mean, there's nowhere for me to hold a guitar and I can't sit close enough to a piano for my feet to reach the pedals. I also don't seem to have enough breath to play a flute."

Both of the twins knew how much it was bugging her.

"Just think: Christmas is right around the corner," Hikaru said, trying to lighten the mood. "And the baby shower is tomorrow. Isn't that when you're going to officially announce that I'm the dad?"

"I think pretty much everybody has figured it out by now, but yes," Jasmine said, linking her fingers together and resting her arms on her swelling stomach. "Which means you _have_ to be there too. No skipping out."

"I don't want to be stuck in a room with a bunch of girls," Hikaru whined.

"I'll be there too," Kaoru said. "Don't complain so much. It's all people we know. It won't be that bad."

"Yeah, but I certainly don't think all the people coming know I'm the father, so I might be murdered by some," Hikaru said. "And then the word will get to the boss, and I'll _really_ be dead. I'm surprised he hasn't figured it out on his own either."

"Actually," Kaoru said thoughtfully, "I think people may have been thinking _I'm_ the father since we're engaged and all." He paused. "Hey, Hikaru."

"What?"

"When Jasmine and I get married, we'll both be the babies' father _and_ uncle," Kaoru said. "How weird is that?"

Jasmine chuckled.

"We're the most dysfunctional family in history," she said.

Kaoru knew it was time when he heard a shatter in the kitchen. He dropped his book on the table and threw the car keys to Hikaru, who would bring the car around to the garage door.

"Jasmine?" he called, as he ran to the kitchen. She was leaning against the island in the kitchen, a shattered plate on the floor. Her face was sweaty and red, and she could hardly stand on her feet. He saw a small puddle begin to form between her feet.

"Hikaru getting the car?" she asked shakily.

"Yes," Kaoru said. "Come on, let's get you to the door." Kaoru was grateful that the back door that led to the garage was right out of the kitchen. Slowly but surely, the twins helped her into the back seat. Kaoru sat with her while Hikaru drove like a maniac to the hospital. Kaoru dialed the hospital's number.

"Tell Dr. Smith that Jasmine Knowles is coming in. She's in labor. We have everything pre-arranged," he said quickly, holding onto Jasmine's hand. "Yes, Hitachiin…. Uh, two of us, but one will be a few minutes late because he's driving. I'll be coming in with her right away while he parks…. Only one?... Why am I being told this _now_?... Well, which one of us can go in?... Neither of us are family to her…. Yes, one of us is the father…. Well, _I'm _her fiancée and _he's_ the baby's father…. Yes, I know it's complicated!" Kaoru was suddenly jerked around the back of the car and had to release Jasmine's hand to stop him from falling on top of her. "Hikaru! Slow down a little, will ya?"

Jasmine started groaning loudly.

"Kaoru," she said and let out a loud almost-scream. "I don't care what they say, I want you both in there!"

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but they're saying only one—"

"I DON'T CARE!" she screamed.

"Did you hear that?" Kaoru asked the nurse over the phone. He smirked. "We're both in."

"We're here!" Hikaru shouted and the tires skidded as he turned into the parking lot. He pulled up to the door he'd been instructed and immediately there was a team of doctors and nurses with a gurney helping them out. Hikaru spotted a nurse that wasn't really doing anything. "Here, make yourself useful," he said, tossing her the keys. "Go park that somewhere."

"Yes, sir," she said. They were rushed into the hospital building and Hikaru and Kaoru jogged to keep up with the gurney. The doctors and nurses were talking quickly to each other and Kaoru wasn't able to understand what they were talking about. He reached over and grabbed Jasmine's hand.

"Kaoru," she gasped through her labored breathing. "Don't leave me."

"I won't," Kaoru assured her.

"I'm scared," she said, beginning to cry. "I'm not cut out to be a mother. I'm not ready for this. I can't do this."

"Don't say that," Kaoru said. "You're going to be an amazing mother."

"No, I won't," Jasmine said, shaking her head. "I've never been able to do anything right in my life. That's why my dad ran off and my mom hates me—"

"This is normal," said the doctor nearest to Kaoru. "It's the hormones going into overdrive. It's making her focus on doubts and all her fears are surfacing. She most likely won't remember most of it. And if she says she hates you—" Kaoru turned to look at the doctor sharply "—she doesn't mean it."

They entered the room, and Jasmine was moved to a bed. Nurses started poking her with a needle to get an IV going and Hikaru and Kaoru stood back to let them get her settled. Dr. Smith came in shortly after they arrived.

She was a tall, skinny woman who looked to be in her early fifties or late forties. Her black hair was pulled back in a tight bun and her kind face smiled at the twins as she prepared to examine Jasmine's condition.

Hikaru and Kaoru looked away.

"You must have a high pain tolerance," she said to Jasmine as she pulled the sheet back down. "It won't be much longer now. This just might be one of the fastest deliveries of twins I've seen, including you two." She pointed to Hikaru and Kaoru. She spoke to the room at large. "If there are any complications, let me know at the first sign and we'll do an emergency C-section." There were murmurs of consent from the staff in the room and Dr. Smith left.

Waiting was the hardest part. Hikaru and Kaoru had taken up posts on either side of the bed and each held one of Jasmine's hands. When she wasn't having contractions, she looked like she was in a fitful sleep. Kaoru tried humming quietly to sooth her, but after a while, he ran out of songs to hum.

A nurse checked Jasmine's dilation again.

"It's time to start moving," she said and paged Dr. Smith. "Let's get her sitting up more." Hikaru and Kaoru were glad to be able to help, supporting most of Jasmine's weight on themselves as the nurses got her feet in these awful-looking stirrups. Kaoru was glad he couldn't see anything underneath the sheet. He was sure he'd be scarred for life.

Dr. Smith came in, mask and gloves on, ready to go.

Hikaru didn't know much about the procedure of giving birth, but it looked excruciatingly painful. He almost regretted getting them all in this situation, but then he heard something that changed his mind forever.

A cry.

"It's a boy," said Dr. Smith.

As Jasmine relaxed and caught her breath to prepare for the second baby, Hikaru watched as the nurses took the first one away and cleaned him up. He had a baby boy. He was a father. He was flying, soaring through the sky.

He was brought firmly back down to earth when Jasmine nearly broke his hand. He and Kaoru both bit back grunts of pain. It was nothing compared to what Jasmine was going through. They'd be strong for her.

"One more big push. You can do it," Dr. Smith said. Kaoru would swear for the rest of his life that Jasmine stopped breathing. As soon as the second baby was out, Jasmine fell back against the bed and her arms went limp.

She began mumbling things in English and Kaoru couldn't hear her clearly enough to translate. It wasn't like he could hear her over the babies' cries either. Hikaru and Kaoru still held Jasmine's hands and Kaoru was petting her hair and whispering into her ear.

"You did great," he said. "Better than the odds and you have two healthy babies."

Dr. Smith pulled the mask from her face and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think that went rather well, don't you?" she joked. Jasmine was barely able to roll her eyes. "Just give us another minute and we'll bring them over. It shouldn't be too hard for you to tell them apart." Hikaru doubted that, but there was a chance they weren't identical.

"Hikaru," Jasmine whispered. "Water?" Hikaru grabbed the little cup of ice chips and spooned some into her mouth for her. "Thank you." He was about to grab her hand again when she put it on top of his first. "Go see them first," she ordered. He hesitated.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Positive," she affirmed. "Go admire your babies." She gave him a small smile as he stood and approached the group of nurses. He stood between two of them and looked at the whining newborns.

They were very red—almost purple—and quite frankly, they looked gross. Once he was over their initial prune-y look, he realized that one was a girl and the other a boy. He chuckled and wiped his hand down his face.

"Oh, God," he said to himself. "I have twins." He watched as the nurses finished cleaning up the babies and weighing them. One nurse instructed him on how to swaddle one while she demonstrated on the other. The nurses hadn't been informed on their "situation".

"You'll have to practice," she said, tucking in the little boy snugly. Hikaru was still trying to fit all the girl's limbs into the blanket. She kept wiggling. That nurse's comment hit him real hard for some reason.

In truth, he _didn't_ need to practice. Because they weren't technically going to be _his_ kids. Kaoru was going to adopt them at the same time he married Jasmine, and _he_ had already given his consent on that matter. He looked over his shoulder at the couple.

Jasmine had a soft smile on her face and her eyes were closed and Kaoru had his lips pressed to her forehead, but was talking to her in hushed tones. Their fingers laced together… and they were perfect.

In his mind, though, _he_ could have fit just as nicely where Kaoru was standing. He'd screwed everything up. He sniffed and excused himself from the room, muttering "bathroom" as he went.

Jasmine watched him leave, but was distracted from her worries about Hikaru by her babies being presented to her.

While Jasmine and Kaoru fawned over the newborn twins, Hikaru was having an emotional breakdown in a bathroom.

He walked through the door and tried to slam it behind him, but it was on hydraulics and just went right back to its tortoise speed of closing. Hikaru shouted profanities at the door and kicked it. The man who was washing his hands at the sink looked up at him quickly and haphazardly dried his hands, escaping from the crazy boy with red hair. Hikaru watched the man flee and his face went from rage to despair.

"I'm such an idiot," he said to no one.

No.

Not no one.

He said to God.

Hikaru had never been very religious, but if there was a God, he needed to talk to Him right now.

"I really fucked things up, didn't I?" He slid down the wall to the floor and looked directly at the fluorescent light. It was flickering. "I go and screw my best friend, then basically dump her even though we weren't really together in the first place. She falls in love with my brother—my _twin_—and now I'm stuck being 'Uncle Hikaru' for the rest of my life. We haven't even decided on if we're going to tell them when they're older. It's not like anyone would be able to tell the difference. If they look like me, they look like him too. And none of that bothered me at all. But now, I—"

He wiped his eyes on his sleeve vigorously, willing the tears to stop so he could breathe.

"When I saw them lying there, I just—I _wanted_ to be their dad. I _wanted_ to raise them. I wanted to—to _prove_ to Jasmine and to myself that I could take responsibility for my actions and that I could excel at it. To prove I love those kids. That I love _her_." He buried his face in his knees and sobbed for a minute or two.

Once his eyes were all cried out, he approached the sink and took a good look at his face. He looked like Kaoru in his reflection. He quickly turned on the cold water and splashed his face vigorously.

When he looked back in the mirror, he saw someone standing behind him. He hung his head low.

"You heard that whole thing, didn't you?" he said.

"Yeah," Tamaki said, his voice thick with emotion. "No matter what you might think, Hikaru. No matter how much it seems otherwise right now, you _are_ those babies' father. And you can still prove yourself to her if you want to. It doesn't take marriage to show that."

Hikaru turned around and looked up at the man who had pulled them—no—_him _out of darkness all those years ago.

"Why is it that you always know exactly what to say and when to say it," Hikaru began, "and yet you're still such an oblivious, bumbling idiot?"

"Huh?"

Hikaru gave a small smile.

"It's a boy and a girl," he said and left.

A/N: Yay! for Tamaki, saving the day like always. Oh, and if you didn't catch why he was there, there were a bunch of Host Club people in the waiting room and Tamaki went to the restroom and was in a stall when Hikaru stormed in and didn't want to interrupt him until he felt Hikaru could handle it. ;) See? I know these things. =P

EDIT: Epilogue is UP! at .net/s/6507977/1/Christmas_Card so check it out~!


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